Health hotline

Ebony, June, 2004 by . Gina Totaro

Thanks for the great article concerning cervical cancer prevention that appeared in Health Hotline (March 2004). It was noted in the article that consistent Pap tests can lower a woman's risk of developing this preventable cancer--in fact the only cancer that is 100 percent preventable.

I just wanted to bring to your attention the fact that there's a test now available to women that proves even more effective than the Pap test. Called "DNAwithPAP," this test provides 100 percent accurate readings, indicating whether or not a woman has HPV (human papilloma virus), therefore alerting her to her irregular cells long before they have the chance to develop into cervical cancer.

As stated in the article, HPV is the most common cause of cervical cancer and can be found in 95 percent of cervical cancer patients, so it's vital that women know to ask their doctor for this effective test.

Gina Totaro

New York, N.Y.