To raise awareness about cervical cancer early detection and prevention, the University of Michigan Health System will host free Pap test screenings on January 30.

What: Free Pap Test Screening
When: January 30, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Briarwood Building 2, Suite B on Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor

To schedule a free screening, call the U-M Cancer AnswerLine at 1-800-865-1125.

PromiseToMe.com was just launched to remind and encourage women to schedule their annual gynecological exams.

HOW IT WORKS:

Women sign up on www.promisetome.com for future reminders to schedule their annual GYN exams and pass the message on to their friends.

For each promise that is made and each friend the message is passed to, Hologic, a leader in women's health care, will donate $1 to the National Cervical Cancer Coaliton to fund cervical cancer screenings for uninsured women.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States and is recognized as the leading cause of cervical cancer. About 80 percent of women in the United States will have an HPV infection in their lifetimes. While most of those infections will clear on their own, some will lead to cervical cancer. For this reason, routine cervical cancer screening, which may include Pap and HPV testing, has been effective in identifying this preventable disease early.

From the press release:

Introduced in October of 2009, the Promise to Me initiative is designed to empower women to make their health a priority and encourage them to pass the message on to other women in their lives. The initiative also has a charitable component - for every person who makes the promise and passes it on, Hologic will donate funds to support preventative screening for underinsured and uninsured women.

In honor of National Cervical Health Awareness Month, Hologic is partnering with the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) to fund cervical cancer screening for women in need. For every person that "makes the promise" and passes it on through the Promise to Me website, Hologic will donate $1 towards healthcare for women.

Check it all out at www.promisetome.com.

As recently reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, the injected contraceptive has been found to be linked in significant loss of bone mass within two years of use in half the women who used it.

The said injected contraceptive is a shot of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, also known as DMPA or Depo-Provera - a product of Pfizer.

From NY Times:

Almost half of all women who use a popular injected contraceptive lose a significant amount of bone mass within two years, and researchers now say the greatest risk is to smokers, women who don't consume enough calcium and those who have never gone through a pregnancy.

As always, a contraceptive doesn't come with no side-effects.

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