5 tactics that can help you avoid cervical cancer

We now know the main causes of cervical cancer, which means there's ways to help you avoid it. Here are some tips that can lower your chances of getting cervical cancer down the line.

• We can prevent most cervical cancer with a series of three shots.
• The Gardasil vaccine prevents infection with four HPV viruses that cause about 70 percent of all cervical cancers.
• Ideally, women should be vaccinated before they become sexually active, which is why Gardasil is recommended for girls as young as 11.
• In reality, any woman can get the vaccine as long as she isn't pregnant.
• There's no evidence of a benefit in women who have already been infected with HPV.

• Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that can be prevented with regular screenings.
• Pap smears can pick up very early cellular changes that may eventually turn into cancer. Burning, cutting or freezing off those cells can prevent the cancer.
• Pap screenings are the primary reason cervical cancer rates have plummeted 70 percent since the 1950s.
• Get your first Pap when you turn 21 or within three years of becoming sexually active. Then, have them annually until you turn 30.
• After you turn 30 and have had three normal Paps in a row, you can get a Pap every two to three years.
• Another option is to get screened every three years with either the conventional or liquid-based Pap plus an HPV test, which directly tests for the presence of the virus.

• If you're worried about cervical cancer, avoid birth control pills that combine estrogen with progestin. They're actually classified as a cause of cervical cancer.
• A review of 24 international studies found that the longer you use this form of contraception, the greater your risk.
• Using birth control pills for 10 years beginning around age 20 to 30 nearly doubles your risk of cervical cancer. As soon as you stop using them, your risk drops.
• The risk seems to be linked to the fact that women who use birth control pills are more likely to be infected with HPV.

• Being infected with HPV doesn't automatically mean you'll develop cervical cancer.
• Many women, especially those under 30, can shake off the virus as easily as they shake off dozens of other viruses they encounter on a daily basis.
• Daily stress — from having a difficult boss, problems with your kids or spouse, or money worries — can impair your ability to fight off all viruses, including HPV.
• Stress can increase your risk of long-term infection that could lead to cervical cancer.

• An interaction between cigarette smoking and HPV may increase the risk of cervical cancer.
• Carcinogens in cigarette smoke are thought to enable the virus to stick around longer and replicate. This could make the cervix more vulnerable to cellular changes that can lead to cancer.

As recently as 20 years ago, we didn't even know what caused it. Now we know it's caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), and we have a vaccine to prevent infection with that virus. And while that's the primary way to help you avoid HPV, these other strategies can also decrease your chances.