unsettling numbers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, death rates due to cervical cancer are significantly higher than previously believed. These findings come from a reevaluation of previous numbers. Generally, death rates for cervical cancer are assessed by the number of women who die from a disease versus the general population at risk, and women with hysterectomies were originally included, even though a hysterectomy almost always removes the cervix, removing the risk for a woman to develop cervical cancer. These new numbers are believed to be more accurate because women who have had hysterectomies were excluded.

The findings also suggested that cervical cancer is more prevalent in black women than in white women, with some doctors suggesting the racial disparity is a result of unequal access to screenings and preventative care. The mortality rate in black women is 10.1 per 100,000, a rate comparable to that of women in many poor developing countries, while the mortality rate in white women is 4.7 per 100,000.

The main cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted infection. Cervical cancer can be screened for during a routine pap smear by a gynecologist.