- With Mayo Clinic gynecologist and obstetrician
Mary Gallenberg, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Mary Gallenberg, M.D.
Mary Gallenberg, M.D.
Dr. Mary Gallenberg is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine and medical oncology. She is credentialed as a menopause practitioner by the North American Menopause Society.
An Antigo, Wis., native, Dr. Gallenberg is a consultant in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and an assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
Dr. Gallenberg has been with Mayo Clinic since 1990. She was on the Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource editorial board and has been honored for excellence in teaching. She also won a Mayo Clinic Excellence Through Teamwork award.
Tests and diagnosis (3)
- Pap smear: Still necessary after hysterectomy?
- Pap smear: Do I need one if I'm a virgin?
- Cervical dysplasia: Is it cancer?
Causes (2)
- HPV infection: How does it cause cervical cancer?
- Cervical cancer: Can I get it if I've never had sex?
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Question
Cervical cancer: Can I get it if I've never had sex?
Is it possible to get cervical cancer if you've never had vaginal intercourse?
Answer
from Mary Gallenberg, M.D.
Yes, it is possible. Although most cervical cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) — a common sexually transmitted infection — some are not. Also, vaginal intercourse isn't the only way to get HPV. HPV can also be transmitted during any type of sexual contact, including anal sex and oral sex.
Factors that may increase your risk of cervical cancer include:
- Smoking
- A weakened immune system caused by HIV infection or certain immune-suppressing medications
- Having multiple sexual partners
- Long-term use of birth control pills
- Giving birth many times
- Being born to a woman who was given diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy
- Lack of routine Pap testing
Routine Pap tests can detect precancerous abnormalities. Pap tests can also catch cervical cancer in its earliest stages. Ask your doctor how often you should undergo Pap testing.
Next questionPap smear: Still necessary after hysterectomy?
- What you need to know about cancer of the cervix. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/cervix/allpages. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Human papillomavirus infection. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp073.cfm. Accessed March 24, 2009.
