The Medical Minute: Cervical cancer awareness
(PhysOrg.com) -- Science has sought the `cause` of cancer for decades, and in the case of cervical cancer, the cause has been found. The cervix is the opening to the womb that is situated at the upper end of the vagina. Until recently the best approach to cervical cancer was to detect it early with a Pap test performed during a gynecologic examination. While the occurrence of advanced cervical cancer has dropped through widespread use of the Pap test, there are many women in the United States and millions worldwide who do not get or have access to Pap tests. This year in the United States, about 12,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer. Almost 4,000 will die of the disease, which is easily detectable and easily cured, if found early.