Is Cervical Cancer Curable?

Women diagnosed with cervical cancer want to know: Is cervical cancer curable? Cervical cancer can be cured, especially if detected early and treated promptly.

Cervical cancer is a malignancy that begins in cells lining the cervix — the lower, narrow part of the uterus. Almost 13,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, and about 4,200 women die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the CDC states no woman should die from cervical cancer — because cervical cancer is highly curable if caught early.

Screening for cervical cancer with Pap tests and testing for infection with cancer causing strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) can identify cervical cancer at the earliest stage when cervical cancer is most curable. In fact, the Pap test can find changes in cells even before a malignancy develops.

Although cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for women in the U.S., over the last 40 years, the deaths from cervical cancer have been reduced by more than 50 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. While the main reason for this great news is the increased use of Pap tests, many advances have been made in treating and curing cervical cancer, too.

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