The Facts
Cervical cancers are among the most common malignant tumors. Fortunately, a large majority of women diagnosed with this disease are completely cured. This is because the tumors are of a slow-growing nature. The American Cancer Society recommends annual screening with a Pap test for all women over the age of 21, as this allows for early detection of tumors in most cases, and therefore, plenty of time to treat them.
About 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and almost 4,000 women die of it. However, cervical cancer today only strikes half as many people as it did 30 years ago, before the test was invented, and the mortality rate has been decreasing steadily for the past several years. The Pap test can actually tell in advance which people are likely to develop cervical cancer in the near future, allowing doctors to act to prevent the disease from appearing.
The tissues of the cervix are very prone to undergoing abnormal changes, and many women have tumors or neoplasms (new growths) in these areas of the reproductive system. Only a minority of these changes are actually cancerous. Some are benign, which means that they won't multiply and spread to other organs, and therefore aren't cancerous (malignant). Others are considered precancerous, and may require surgical treatment similar to that used to cure cancer itself. Many women who don't actually have cancer still need to be treated by an oncologist (a doctor who treats cancer).
Preventing cancer may require a time-consuming series of diagnostic and surgical procedures. Similarly, women who have been cured of cervical cancer often need further treatment, especially if radiation was used.