
Cervical Cancer Prevention: What You Can Do
HOW DOES CERVICAL CANCER FORM?
Cervical cancer is caused by high risk types of HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Almost half of American adults ages 18-59 have had a genital HPV infection. This doesn’t mean that everyone who has HPV will also contract cervical cancer. For younger women, their immune system is likely to clear up the infection on its own.
However, women between the ages of 30 – 64 who have a “high-risk” form of the virus (hrHPV) are at greater risk. This is because, over time, a persistent hrHPV infection can cause changes in the cells of the cervix. Without treatment, these changes can develop into precancerous cells and then cervical cancer. Click here to continue reading