Next to breast cancer, cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in senior women. Sad that the very parts of our body which made reproduction possible, which also nourished the mothers and fathers of the next generation of this world and most of all, the very essence of femininity can also be the ones to kill us.

I’m sure, at some point in your life you encountered cancer. It  can be a friend or perhaps a relative or worst, you personally had one—or fighting right now. I’ve seen the uglies and I can tell you right now, it is not an illness you mess with. Even  if you survive, there will always be the kind of trauma you couldn’t quite shake off. Same goes for family and friends.

If you must know, in 2006, NIH or the National Institutes of Health conducted a study about cervical cancer to determine its risks. Unfortunately for us seniors, the study showed that about a fourth of cervical cancer sufferers were aged 65 and above. Not a good sight right? Moreover, it was found out that as we age, the risk of developing cervical cancer becomes higher. NIH blames it to the fact that most women belonging to this age group have never had pap smear thus not knowing that they are already developing cervical cancer inside their bodies. Mortality rate for senior women is not looking good too as it is quite high if compared with any other age group.

I can understand why older women are missing their pap smears. If you ask me, you should know that during our time, you don’t usually visit your ob-gyne like you would a family doctor unless of course if you’re pregnant. We just don’t go around town inviting a doc to poke us with anxiety-triggering devices, no sir. We always consider our feminine parts as sacred and private, like it should be. Add to that the dreaded results – when you submit yourself to a test or exam, especially if it has something to do with your health, you always expect it to be bad – and most of the time, it is.

However, we all know that the only way to beat cervical cancer is detecting it early on. Good news is, you don’t have to pay for it anymore as you can get yourself tested for free. Ideally, older women should be tested once every three years. Your Medicare should cover it. Seniors should understand that this is the only way for doctors to see if there are changes inside your cervix or if there are abnormalities so it is important that you don’t miss a test no matter how embarrassing this whole affair might be.