Cervical cancer is the cancer of specific cells on the cervix known as squamous cells.
Interestingly, cervical cancer is very highly associated with the Human Papilloma Virus
(HPV). More specifically, certain strains of the Human Papilloma Virus can infect the
cervix and initiate irregular alterations to cells, possibly leading to cancer. Women younger
than fifty years old have an increased exposure to HPV and are more likely to have
cervical cancer. In addition, women of African ancestry have a higher chance of being
affected by cervical cancer compared to Caucasian women. Furthermore, women with
specific religious beliefs lean towards obtaining lesser rates of cervical cancer because
they have fewer sexual partners. The future of communities worldwide is at risk if poor
choices continue to be made and if HPV continues to spread.
Some of the risk factors for developing cervical cancer are early first sexual experience,
multiple sexual partners, genital warts, multiple births, weak immune system, poor
socio-economic status, family history, and smoking. First early sexual contact is a risk
factor for potentially picking up the associated HPV strains. This is believed to increase
the possibility of being exposed to cervical cancer because the cervix undergoes many
changes during puberty, causing the area to be more susceptible to impairment. The more
sexual partners you have, the greater the risk of picking up a strain of HPV that is
associated with cervical cancer. In addition, there is a increased exposure to cervical cancer
for women with male partners that have had sexual relations with other women with