Cancer of the cervix is a deadly disease—but women can take steps to protect themselves.

Doctors found invasive cervical cancer in an estimated 12,700 American women in 2011, and the disease claimed about 4,300 lives. Yet when it’s caught early enough, cervical cancer is almost always treatable.

Cancer of the cervix usually occurs in women ages 20 to 50, although women are at risk throughout their lives. In fact, 20 percent of cases affect women older than age 65.

Learning how this deadly cancer can be prevented, diagnosed, and treated can help you protect yourself.

What causes cervical cancer?
A: Infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes 99 percent of cervical cancer cases. This sexually transmitted virus is so common that by age 50, four out of five American women have contracted one or more HPV infections.

Thankfully, most of the more than 100 kinds of HPV don’t cause cancer. About 90 percent of the infections disappear on their own within a year or two.

However, women with HPV infections that don’t go away face a high risk of developing cancer of the cervix.

Are there circumstances that can increase my risk?
A: These risk factors increase the odds of HPV infection, which in turn can lead to cancer:

• Having many sexual partners
• Having sex with a man who has had many sexual partners
• Having sex before age 18
• Having a family history of cervical cancer
• Having a personal history of chlamydia or cervical, vaginal, or vulvar cancer
• Being a smoker
• Having an impaired immune system
• Having a mother who took the prescription drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) while pregnant

What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?
A: Women with early-stage cervical cancer usually don’t have symptoms. If they do, they may experience bleeding between periods or after intercourse or menopause; a persistent vaginal discharge; or long, heavy periods. Women with advanced cancer may have pelvic or back pain, fatigue, and heavy vaginal bleeding.

How is cervical cancer detected and treated?
A: A Pap test can find this disease, which is confirmed by follow-up biopsies.

Caught early, in its precancerous stage, the disease can often be treated successfully before the cells become cancerous.

Several factors help determine how best to treat cervical cancer, including the cancer’s stage, size, and shape. The woman’s health and age also play a part. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, alone or in combination, are used to treat cervical cancer.

What can I do to prevent cervical cancer?
A: Because it develops slowly, regular Pap tests are the best way to prevent the disease. These tests can detect abnormal cell activity before the cells become cancerous.

Starting at age 21, women should have a Pap test every two years. At age 30, women who have had three normal Pap results in a row can have the test every three years. Women older than age 65 should ask their doctors about their need to have Pap tests.

In addition, females ages 9 to 26 can be vaccinated against the forms of HPV that cause cervical cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccines (Gardasil and Cervarix) are safe and effective.

Practicing safe sex by using condoms can also reduce the risk of contracting an HPV infection that could lead to cancer.

Remember: Cancer of the cervix can be deadly. However, you can take steps to prevent or detect it.

By Barbara Floria, senior writer for Vitality. For more information, visit the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.

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