January 2021 Awareness: Cervical Health Awareness Month

Each year a variety of communities and organizations dictate a “monthly awareness” in order to spread awareness about a particular cause or health issue. There is a deeply rooted power in spreading awareness and with each month comes new information and studies surrounding the cause/health issue. With more people learning the more solutions can arise.

Knowledge is power. 

The United States Congress designated January as Cervical Health Awareness Month. More than 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer each year. According to the American Cancer Society, there are an estimated 4,290 deaths from cervical cancer in 2020, in addition to the 13,800 new cases in 2020. While the most recommended treatment is surgery and radiation there are new developments in research in the use of herbs as treatment for cervical cancer. A review done by the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research focused on a variety of medicinal plants such as Rosmarinus officinalis, Solanum nigrum, Kaffir lime, and Garcinia nujiangensis. The review concluded that “The mortality rate due to different types of cancer has been increasing in spite of several treatment strategies for cancer. Plant-derived molecules or drugs could be an effective alternative for the treatment of different types of cancer. This review is an attempt to understand different types of plants and molecules which are used for the cancer treatment, especially for cervical cancer.”