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'Get Past Your Fears,' Get Tested For Cervical Cancer

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By MARY SHEDDEN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 6, 2008

Jacqueline Whitmore went from beauty queen to cancer patient in an instant.

It was 2001 and nothing - not a successful career as an etiquette expert, not being named a finalist in the Mrs. Florida pageant, not a supportive husband - could change the diagnosis of cervical cancer.

She had no choice but to battle the disease and undergo surgery to remove the cancer the government estimates is diagnosed in 11,500 American women each year. The Palm Beach resident, who was treated at Tampa's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Institute & Research Center, considers herself lucky to be around today.

Whitmore, now 43, believes her survival is tied to her admittedly reluctant decision to undergo a Pap test. She wouldn't have done it unless a nurse at a luxury spa she visited expressed serious concern when Whitmore confessed she had avoided the awkward annual exam for four years running.

"I felt there was no urgency," says Whitmore, who was married and had no outward signs of illness. "You go to the doctor for two reasons: you need birth control pills or you have an infection."

Today, Whitmore shares her cervical cancer experience at speaking engagements and in personal settings, vowing to convince women they can avoid putting their bodies at risk for a disease that will kill 3,670 American women this year. It's not as mainstream as breast cancer awareness, but it's important to discuss, she says.

"I thought it was just an added expense," Whitmore says of the lab test that can cost about $60 to $100 for an uninsured woman. "That was just so myopic. It was like saying: 'Don't get a mammogram.'"

The National Institutes for Health says Pap tests are responsible for identifying many of the pre-cancerous changes of the cervix, the lower part of a woman's uterus that opens at the top of the vagina. The tests do not offer a final diagnosis, but these screenings are part of the reason why American women are far less affected by cervical cancer than women in the rest of the world, the NIH says.

Jill Hechtman, medical director of Tampa Obstetrics, said she's discovered precancerous cervical cells on women of all ages, financial means and relationship statuses. And it's true almost all cervical cancers are caused by certain strains of HPV (human papilloma virus), which is commonly spread through sexual intercourse.

It's a reluctance to get tested that translates into women going untreated until the cancer spreads from the surface of the cervix.

"Denial is one of the biggest reasons why women don't come in for an annual," Hechtman says.

Hechtman recommends that women start getting annual gynecological exams starting three years after they start having sexual intercourse, or age 21, whichever comes first. The need for annual Pap tests depends on age, health history and previous exam results.

Other than denial, financial burdens appear to be another serious barrier to Pap tests. The NIH lists poor economic status and the inability to pay for regular pap tests as one of the leading risk factors for cervical cancer. Hechtman urges women worried about cost to speak with local health clinics. The pain and cost of cancer is far greater than any awkwardness of a Pap test, she says.

"I would encourage people to get past their fears."

Want to share your health and fitness idea? Contact me at (813) 259-7365 or mshedden@tampatrib.com.

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