Getting screened for cervical cancer is one of the best investments you can make this new year. In 2009 alone, over 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed, and over 4,000 women died from the disease.

A pap smear is usually enough to keep monitoring the health of your cervix. If you’re already on birth control, you may have to have an annual screening already at the request of your gynecologist. If not, you may be able to get by with one every three years up to age 29, depending on your risk factors and family history. All women who are sexually active should get a pap smear—and if you’re not sexually active by age 21, you should still get one by that time.

Women over 30 should get a pap smear done every 2 to 3 years, and can also be tested for HPV, a virus that causes cervical cancer. Women age 65 or over may opt to stop having pap smears if they’ve had at least three normal pap smears in a row and has no history of abnormal pap tests within the last decade.

If an abnormality is discovered, a colposcopy may be performed to discover the source.

Even if you’ve been screened in the past, you should definitely contact your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms of cervical cancer:

• Vaginal discharge that doesn’t go away—which could be brown, pale, pink, watery, or bloody, or contain a strong smell
• Fatigue
• Post-menopausal bleeding
• Pelvic, leg, or back pain
• Abnormally long or heavy periods
• Vaginal bleeding between periods or after sex
• Bone fractures
• Loss of weight or appetite
• Urine or feces leaking from the vagina

A vaccination is available for young women under the age 26 to prevent HPV. Other ways to prevent cervical cancer include:

• Abstaining from genital contact with another person (this includes intercourse, but intercourse is not necessary to spread HPV; any genital contact can do that)
• Refraining from or quitting smoking
• Using condoms
• Limiting the number of sexual partners one has
• Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Obtaining and keeping a healthy weight
• Using a birth control other than oral contraceptive pills (these have been found to increase the risk of cervical cancer in several studies)
• Having less than three children (women who have three or more full-term pregnancies are at a higher risk of cervical cancer)
• Refraining from having children before age 17
• Avoiding sex with partners who engage in high-risk sexual activities or have sex with multiple partners.

While women who have none of these risk factors can develop cervical cancer, such cases are highly rare.