Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women, took Jeanette’s life a year after she was diagnosed. Every year in January, Cancer Awareness Month, The WHO emphasizes that the disease is both preventable and curable.
What is cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer is a reproductive cancer that develops in a woman’s cervix and can spread to other parts of the body if not detected or treated early.
According to the WHO, an estimated 660,000 women worldwide were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2022 and approximately 350,000 women died from the disease.
UNICEFthe UN children’s agency, warns that the disease takes away a woman’s life every two minutes.
Nearly all cases of cervical cancer are linked to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) – a very common virus that is transmitted through sexual contact.
Most sexually active people will get HPV at some point. In most cases, the immune system clears the virus naturally, but persistent infection with certain cancer-causing types of HPV can cause abnormal cell growth that can eventually develop into cancer.
How can it be prevented or treated?
Cervical cancer is both preventable and curable with proper access to screening, vaccination and treatment.
The WHO recommends vaccination against HPV for all girls aged 9 to 14 years, before they become sexually active, and screening for cervical cancer from age 30 (25 years for women with HIV).
When diagnosed, it is one of the most successfully treatable cancers if caught early and treated effectively.
However, unequal access to prevention and treatment remains a problem, leading to higher incidence and mortality rates in some parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and Southeast Asia.
The international community is responding
In 2020, 194 countries took an initiative global strategy with the aim of eradicating cervical cancer. The day it was launched, November 17, is now a fact World Day for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer.
The strategy sets three goals to be achieved by 2030:
- 90 percent of girls will be fully vaccinated for HPV at age 15.
- 70 percent of women will be screened with an achievement test at age 35 and again at age 45.
- The diagnosis is made in 70 percent of women treatment.
The strategy estimates that it will succeed in eradicating cervical cancer could prevent 74 million new cases and 62 million deaths by 2120.
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