By Dr. Jonathan Cosin

“Dancing with the Stars” co-host and Fox Sports sideline football reporter Erin Andrews wasn’t about to let cancer put her on the sidelines of life.

The 38-year-old Andrews, diagnosed with cervical cancer in September, recently revealed her condition to Sports Illustrated’s MMBQ. She sought treatment for the disease during the NFL season, yet never missed a day’s work in advance of her network’s coverage of the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.

Andrews’ cancer was detected early enough so that it could be removed with surgery, which is a standard and effective treatment. Her experience serves as a reminder about how effective testing and screening options for early detection have significantly reduced deaths rate associated with cervical cancer — a drop of over 50 percent in the last 40 years, according to the American Cancer Society.

The most effective early detection options for cervical cancer include:

  • A pap smear test
  • A HPV (human papilloma virus) test

All women start start having regular pap tests starting at age 21. Starting at age 30, women should also be tested for the presence of high-risk HPV types. Most women can stop having pap smears at age 65 or after they’ve had a hysterectomy. Your doctor can advise you what’s right for you.

Pap smear testing works by examining tissue in the cervical area and determining if there are signs of pre-cancerous lesions that could eventually become cancerous. The HPV virus is the agent that helps turn healthy cells into pre-cancerous or cancerous cells. The virus is contracted through sexual contact with someone else who has the virus. The HPV test can determine if the virus is present in the cervix.

It’s important to remember that not all types of HPV cause cancer. Many people infected with the HPV virus are able to clear the infection without ever showing signs of a problem. There is no specific treatment for the virus itself, only for the precancerous and cancerous changes it can cause.

As with any disease, the best strategy is prevention. We’re fortunate now to have available vaccinations against the HPV virus that can protect women and men from infection with the most serious types of HPV that can cause cancer as well as other types that cause genital warts. The vaccine is appropriate for boys and girls and vaccination is best given early, before they become sexually active. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends offering the vaccine to boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 12. The vaccination is highly effective but women who have had it still need to continue regular pap smear screening.

Erin Andrews’ story also touches on another important factor in the mortality rate connected with cervical cancer, and that’s racial disparities between white women and African-American women. Dr. Aaron Shafer from the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at Hartford Hospital provides details on a study released last week by the journal Cancer found that African-American women have a significantly higher mortality rate from cervical cancer than white women.

So please, take this opportunity to make an appointment to see your gynecologist or encourage your wife, sister, mother, daughter and anyone else you care about to do so. And if you have a teenager, please talk to a pediatrician about the HPV vaccine.

Dr. Jonathan Cosin is a gynecologic oncologist at the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. He is also lead physician on the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute Gynecologic Oncology Disease Management Team.