Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among adult women. But fortunately, cervical cancer is treatable if discovered early! In the case of cervical cancer, the country provides free tests every two years, so go to the National Health Insurance Corporation’s ‘My Health Management’ to see if you are eligible for free, and be sure to get tested!
Free cervical cancer screening inquiry
Eligible for free cervical cancer screening are women born in Korea and over the age of 20. Every year, people born in odd-numbered years are eligible for free testing, and in even-numbered years, people born in even-numbered years are eligible for free testing.
This year, 2024, people born in even-numbered years are eligible. I belong to this category, as I was born in 1982. You can consider that free testing is available from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
If you are eligible for free cervical cancer screening, you will receive a notification via mail, KakaoTalk, text, etc. If you haven’t received it, you can check it on the “National Health Insurance Site”, so you can check it right away with just KakaoTalk authentication.
National vaccination – Cervical cancer vaccination (free for women aged 13 to 17)
Health checkups are conducted for the purpose of early detection and treatment in the early stages when there are no symptoms of disease. “Cervical cancer” is a representative health checkup for all citizens over the age of 20. This is a general checkup once every two years, so be sure to get it every two years.
Cervical cancer screening goes through several steps to check for abnormalities in cervical cells or the presence of cancer cells. In the first step, a cervical cytology test is performed, and if the results show atypical or abnormal cells, the second step is performed. It tests for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV), a known cause of cervical cancer. If the virus spreads at this time, colposcopy and biopsy are performed in the third stage.
It is known that the best time to get vaccinated against cervical cancer is between the ages of 9 and 15 for men and between the ages of 9 and 26 for women. In particular, research has shown that the rate of antibody production is higher when vaccinated between the ages of 9 and 13. In Korea, as a national vaccination program, Cervarix 2-valent and Gardasil 4-valent are administered free of charge to adolescents aged 13 to 17 and women from low-income families.
However, vaccination is recommended even for those in their mid-40s, so it would be better to get it without thinking that it is too late.