Cervical Cancer Awareness: Signs, Causes, Screening, and Prevention Every Woman Should Know

Connect For More Health Content Insights Christmas, work, life, and responsibilities often make us forget one simple truth:

our bodies are always communicating — whether we listen or not.

Cervical cancer is one of those conditions that often stays silent until it has progressed. Yet, it is one of the most preventable cancers when detected early.

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer caused mainly by a virus known as the 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘂𝘀 (𝗛𝗣𝗩). It affects the cells lining up the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina.

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.

— National Library of Medicine

Cervical cancer remains a major public health issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where access to vaccination, screening, and treatment is limited. Poverty, stigma, lack of education, and late diagnosis all contribute to higher mortality rates.

Every woman should care about cervical cancer because 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨. When diagnosed late, the disease can cause severe physical and emotional distress.

𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿

• 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗮: Begins in the thin, flat cells lining the outer cervix.

• 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗮: Begins in the glandular cells lining the cervical canal.

𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 (𝑰𝑨𝑹𝑪), 𝒂 𝑾𝑯𝑶 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓.

Video source: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Health Organization.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝘀

The cervix serves as a passageway between the uterus and the vagina. Cervical cancer begins when normal cervical cells start growing uncontrollably.

These cells do not become cancerous immediately. They first undergo 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨, which can be detected through screening before progressing to cancer.

𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘂𝘀 (𝗛𝗣𝗩)

HPV plays a central role in the development of cervical cancer. It is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide.

Most cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with high-risk HPV strains especially 𝗛𝗣𝗩 𝟭𝟲 and 𝗛𝗣𝗩 𝟭𝟴.

Cancer does not happen overnight.

𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮. 

𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Persistent HPV infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer.

𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑯𝑷𝑽 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒙 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 95% 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔.

— World Health Organization (WHO)

Other risk factors include:

• Smoking tobacco

• Early sexual activity

• Multiple sexual partners

• Weakened immune system

• Exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES):

DES was a drug given to pregnant women in the 1950s to prevent miscarriage. Women whose mothers took this drug have a higher risk of developing a rare type of cervical cancer known as clear cell adenocarcinoma.

— Mayo Clinic

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔:

DES affects how the cervix develops before birth, which can cause abnormal cervical cells later in life.

𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀

Early cervical cancer often has no symptoms.

As the disease progresses, symptoms may include:

• Abnormal vaginal bleeding

• Pelvic pain

• Pain during intercourse

• Unusual vaginal discharge

• Painful urination

• Burning vaginal sensation

• Prolonged menstrual bleeding

𝑵𝒐 𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆.

𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Screening allows healthcare providers to identify abnormal cervical cells before cancer develops.

𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀

• Pap Smear: Detects abnormal cervical cells

• HPV Testing: Identifies high-risk HPV strains

• Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA): Common in low-resource settings

— WHO, CDC, American Cancer Society.

Women aged 21–65 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 should undergo screening regularly even if they feel healthy.

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿

Prevention includes:

• HPV vaccination (especially before exposure)

• Safe sexual practices

• Regular screening

• Avoiding smoking

— WHO, CDC

Prevention is not fear-based — it is 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚.

𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄)

Treatment depends on the stage and may include:

• Surgery

• Radiotherapy

• Chemotherapy

𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚-𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒍𝒚.

— National Cancer Institute

𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮

Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in sub-Saharan Africa due to:

• Limited screening services

• Low HPV vaccination coverage

• Cultural stigma

• Late diagnosis

— IARC–WHO

𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Common myths include:

• 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 — False

• 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 — False

• 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 — False

• 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 — False

Caring for your health is not selfish, it is stewardship.

This Cervical Cancer Awareness Month:

• Get screened

• Encourage someone else

• Share accurate information

• Break the silence

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