El Paso cervical cancer patient grateful for Texas Tech Physicians doctor’s treatment

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - January is cervical health awareness month, each year in the United States there are more than 11,500 new cases of cervical cancer reported. About 4,000 of those patients die of the disease according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Cervical cancer is a disease where the body's cells grow out of control and can spread to other parts of the body. It usually starts in the cervix and impacts those over the age of 30. The main cause, according to the CDC, is HPV or human papillomavirus.

A local physician says here in the borderland he and his staff are seeing younger patients. “Unfortunately, cervical cancer can manifest very early, before the age of 21, and I have seen that, more commonly in women of reproductive age,” says Eugene Patrick Toy, M.D. director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso.

Early detection is key in the treatment and survival of patients. Most women diagnosed early and treated at the onset of symptoms have a 91 percent five-year survival rate.

“If you’re fortunate enough to diagnose pre-cancer, which could be from a Pap smear or subsequent biopsy, we can treat that before it turns into invasive cervical cancer,” adds Dr. Toy.

Screening, testing and getting the HPV vaccine can help with prevention of the disease.

“It can prevent most strains of the cancer-causing virus that can cause cervical cancer,” added Dr. Toy.