Masthead
 
 
 
Published Tue, Jan 19, 2010 02:00 AM
Modified Mon, Jan 18, 2010 01:17 PM 
'This is a big deal'
Carmen Zepp was diagnosed with cervical cancer for the first time after a Pap 
smear in 2002.
She had the affected area of her cervix removed and quickly moved on with her 
life as an accountant at GlaxoSmithKline and mother of three.
Even after being diagnosed a second time, last fall, with a more invasive form 
of the cancer, Zepp said she wasn't overly concerned at first. "Even after 
having it once, I thought, cervical cancer is a curable cancer. It's no big 
deal." 
Zepp made the comment Wednesday, during her weekly infusion of chemotherapy at 
the Cancer Centers of the Carolinas, near Rex Hospital in Raleigh. The 
treatments last five hours and leave the 39-year-old nauseated and exhausted.
Gesturing toward her IV-drip, Zepp noted wryly, "This is a big deal."
Zepp wanted to share her experience as a reminder that despite strides in 
testing and optimism about a vaccination against human papilloma virus, cervical 
cancer remains a menace.
"January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month," Zepp said. "But you'd never know 
it. It's not like there's a big race to raise awareness for cervical cancer."
Dr. Monica Jones, Zepp's gynecological oncologist, said cervical cancer, and 
other female cancers, remain largely overshadowed by breast cancer, which is 
estimated to affect one woman in eight over their lifetimes.
Recently, recommendations to push back the age for a woman's first mammogram 
from 40 to 50 and to de-emphasize breast self-exams caused an uproar. The White 
House responded by saying the recommendations would not be adopted.
On the very same day, another influential medical group similarly recommended 
that women go from annual Pap smears to every other year.
"That barely made a blip," Jones said.
Cervical cancer awareness is, in some ways, a victim of its own success. The 
cervical cancer rate dropped by 75 percent after the Pap smear was created. Now, 
Jones said, only about 4,000 women die of cervical cancer per year in the United 
States.
Of course, to Zepp, that number is not entirely comforting. Having had a full 
hysterectomy, and now heavy rounds of radiation and chemo, her prognosis is 
good. Dr. Alan Kritz, the oncologist in charge of her post-surgery treatment 
plan, said there is probably a 15 percent chance of the cancer recurring.
Zepp will monitor it carefully, that's for sure.
Zepp's teenage daughter has already gotten two of the required shots for the 
three-part HPV vaccination. And Zepp remains a firm believer in the annual Pap.
"That's really the take-home message here," she said. "Cervical cancer still can 
be a really big deal."
For more information, visit the National Cervical Cancer Coalition at 
http://nccc-online .org/awareness.html. 
ruth.sheehan@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4828