Cervical Cancer in young adults

Cervical cancer develops when cells in the cervix begin to grow out of control and can then invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. Usually, cervix cancer is very slow growing, although in certain circumstances it can grow and spread quickly. In the U.S. in 2007, 12,280 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,021 women in the United States died from cervical cancer. This puts cervical cancer as the 12th most common cancer that women develop, and the 14th most common cause of cancer death for women in the U.S. However, cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cause of cancer death in developing nations, with about 370,000 new cases annually having a 50% mortality rate. Decades ago, cervical cancer was the number one cause of cancer deaths in women in the U.S. There has been a 75% decrease in incidence and mortality from cervical cancer in developed nations over the past 50 years. Most of this decrease is attributed to the effective institution of cervical cancer screening programs in the wealthier nations.

Although there are several known risk factors for getting cervical cancer, no one knows exactly why one woman gets it and another doesn't. One of the most important risk factors for cervical cancer is infection with a virus called HPV (human papilloma virus). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that is incredibly common in the population; most college-aged men and women have been exposed to HPV. Fortunately, there are several actions that women can take to decrease the risk of dying from cervix cancer. The first of these is undergoing regular Pap testing. Recently, two vaccines, called Gardasil and Ceravix have been developed. These vaccines have been demonstrated to be effective in preventing infection with some strains of HPV, when given before a person is exposed to HPV. For