{"id":17039,"date":"2026-01-22T13:22:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=17039"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:22:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:22:25","slug":"the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>January 22, 2026<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact: <\/strong>Dr. Zelalem Attlee, <u><a href=\"mailto:Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov\">Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>January Marks Cervical Health Awareness Month<\/em><\/p>\n<p>WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Cervical cancer is highly preventable, yet <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/cervical-cancer\/statistics\/index.html\">thousands of women die<\/a><\/u>\u00a0from it each year in the United States. The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District encourages you to take two simple steps to prevent cervical cancer. Vaccination and screenings help save lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJanuary is Cervical Health Awareness Month, a reminder that cervical cancer is largely preventable through regular screening and HPV vaccination,\u201d said Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Director J. Carr, M.D. \u201cEarly detection saves lives, and we encourage all eligible individuals to take advantage of these proven, life-saving services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The HPV vaccine <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/immunization\/hpv\/\">protects against the HPV<\/a><\/u>\u00a0types that cause 90% of all cervical cancer. It also protects against five other cancers. The HPV vaccine works best before exposure to the virus and is recommended for routine vaccination at ages 11 or 12 years of age.<\/p>\n<p>Vaccination can also start as early as nine years old. People aged 26 years and younger who are not fully vaccinated can still get the vaccine. Some adults age 27 and older may choose to get vaccinated and should talk to a healthcare provider. Please talk to a healthcare provider about the HPV vaccine and its cancer prevention benefits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cervical Cancer Screening<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/cervical-cancer\/screening\/index.html\">HPV test and the Pap test<\/a><\/u>\u00a0can help prevent cervical cancer or find it early. The HPV test detects high risk types of human papillomavirus, the cause of most cervical cancers. The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for abnormal cervical cells.<\/p>\n<p>When to get screened depends on a woman\u2019s age:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For 21- to 29-years-olds, a Pap test only is recommended every three years.<\/li>\n<li>For 30- to 65-year-olds you have three testing options that range from three to five years. Talk to your healthcare provider about the right option for you:\n<ul>\n<li>An HPV test only, every five years.<\/li>\n<li>Co-testing with an HPV test and a Pap test, every five years.<\/li>\n<li>A Pap test only, every three years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>For women over 65, please contact your healthcare provider to determine what testing schedule is best for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District offers HPV vaccination. HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening dates are by appointment (see below).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17041 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules.jpg 1437w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The FDA has also approved two self-swab tests for use in a doctor\u2019s office, as well as an at home test called the <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessdata.fda.gov\/cdrh_docs\/reviews\/DEN240045.pdf\">Teal Wand<\/a><\/u>. These tests may make screenings more accessible, especially for women in rural and marginalized areas. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if a self-swab test is a good option for you.<\/p>\n<p>If cost is an issue, VDH can help.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/every-womans-life\/\">Every Woman\u2019s Life<\/a><\/u>\u00a0provides free breast and cervical screening tests to low-income, uninsured Virginians.<\/li>\n<li><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/immunization\/vvfc\/\">Virginia Vaccines for Children<\/a><\/u>(VVFC) provides the HPV vaccine at no cost for eligible pre-teen or teen children. Use the <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/immunization\/vvfc\/locatevvfcprovider\/\">provider finder<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to find a VVFC provider or call 800-568-1929 or 804-864-8055.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Taking these preventative steps now isn\u2019t just smart, it could save your life. Contact the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District at <u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rrhd.org\">www.rrhd.org<\/a><\/u>\u00a0for more information about cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine or cervical cancer screenings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>January 22, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov \u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer January Marks Cervical Health Awareness Month WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Cervical cancer is highly preventable, yet thousands of women die\u00a0from it each year in the United States. The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District encourages you to take two simple steps [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":444,"featured_media":0,"parent":16853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1452,1454,1453,1357,30],"class_list":["post-17039","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-cervical-cancer","tag-hpv-test","tag-pap-smear","tag-screening","tag-vaccine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 22, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov \u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer January Marks Cervical Health Awareness Month WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Cervical cancer is highly preventable, yet thousands of women die\u00a0from it each year in the United States. The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District encourages you to take two simple steps [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1437\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1079\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer - Newsroom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-22T18:22:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"2026 Regional News Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/2026-regional-news-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer - Newsroom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer - Newsroom","og_description":"January 22, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov \u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer January Marks Cervical Health Awareness Month WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Cervical cancer is highly preventable, yet thousands of women die\u00a0from it each year in the United States. The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District encourages you to take two simple steps [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","og_image":[{"width":1437,"height":1079,"url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/","name":"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer - Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-22T18:22:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/Clinic-schedules-300x225.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/the-rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-two-ways-you-can-prevent-cervical-cancer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newsroom","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"2026 Regional News Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"\u00a0The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District Shares Two Ways You Can Prevent Cervical Cancer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/444"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17042,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17039\/revisions\/17042"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}