“I felt betrayed by my body,” she told the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of an initiative to eliminate the disease.
Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women, claimed Jeanette’s life a year after she was diagnosed. In January of each year, Cancer Awareness Month, The WHO emphasizes that the disease can be prevented and cured.
What is cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer is a reproductive cancer that develops in a woman’s cervix and can spread to other parts of the body if not detected or treated early.
In 2022, an estimated 660,000 women worldwide will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 350,000 women will die from the disease, according to the WHO.
UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, He warns that the disease takes the life of a woman every two minutes.
Almost all cases of cervical cancer are related to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), an extremely common virus that is transmitted through sexual contact.
Most sexually active people will have HPV at some point. In most cases, the immune system clears the virus naturally, but persistent infection with certain carcinogenic types of HPV can lead to abnormal cell growth that can ultimately develop into cancer.
How can it be prevented or treated?
Cervical cancer can be prevented and cured with adequate access to screening, vaccination and treatment.
The WHO recommends HPV vaccination for all girls aged 9 to 14 years, before they are sexually active, and cervical screening starting at age 30 (25 years for women living with HIV).
When diagnosed, it is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, if detected early and treated effectively.
However, unequal access to prevention and treatment remains a problem, leading to higher incidence and mortality rates in some regions of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and Southeast Asia.
The international community responds
In 2020, 194 countries initiated a global strategy with the goal of eliminating cervical cancer. The day of its launch, November 17, marks World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day.
The strategy establishes three objectives to be achieved between now and 2030:
- 90 percent of girls will be fully vaccinated for HPV at age 15.
- 70 percent of women will be projected with a high performance test at age 35 and again at age 45.
- 70 percent of diagnosed women receive treatment.
The strategy estimates that eliminating cervical cancer could avoid 74 million new cases and prevent 62 million deaths by 2120.
[I[1]I only included this because it’s in the headline.
