Reduce your risk

You can play a vital role in reducing your risk of developing *cervical cancer, as well as other cancers related to the human papilloma virus (HPV). Here are a few tips:

• Get vaccinated. If you’re between the ages of 9 and 45, you can get vaccinated against HPV. Encourage your friends and partners to get vaccinated too!
• Get screened regularly. If you’re 21 and over, have ever been sexually active and you have a cervix, then you need to get a Pap test every three years.
• Does your partner (or partners) have a cervix? If so, encourage them to get screened too!
• Practice safer sex:
  • Use condoms on shared sex toys and penises. While condoms help to reduce your risk of HPV, sadly, no genital sexual activity is risk free.
  • Use dental dams for oral sex and latex gloves for sex with hands.
  • Lubrication also reduces risk by helping to prevent small cuts and tears, which make HPV and other sexually transmitted infections more easily transmittable.
  • Clean your sex toys after use.
  • Avoid second-hand smoke. If you smoke, try to quit.

*A note on terminology: On this website, we refer to some body parts, including the cervix, vagina and uterus, in order to discuss cervical cancer. We do recognize that many trans men and people on the trans masculine/ female-to-male (FtM) spectrum may feel ambivalent about or distanced from these terms or prefer other terms, such as “front hole.” We minimize our use of these terms wherever possible, while also acknowledging and attempting to normalize the reality that men can have these body parts too.