January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and we have an opportunity to engage audiences to learn more about cervical cancer prevention and screening.
About 14,000 new cases of cervical cancer were estimated to be diagnosed in the US during 2024 and more than 4,000 women were expected to die from the disease. Almost all cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the ACS National Roundtable on Cervical Cancer (ACS NRTCC), about 50% of cervical cancer diagnoses are in never screened people.
ACS is encouraging screening through the I Love You Get Screened marketing campaign in January. Regular cervical cancer screening can find and remove pre-cancers before they become cancer. ACS recommends cervical cancer screening starting at age 25.
ACS also recommends HPV vaccination to help prevent six types of cancer. Children should start the HPV vaccination series at age 9 and complete the two-dose series by age 12. Children and young adults ages 13 through 26 years who have not been vaccinated or who have not received all of their shots should get the vaccine as soon as possible.
Cervical cancer mortality rates have dropped by more than half since the mid-1970s because of prevention and early detection through screening. ACS currently funds 15 multi-year cervical cancer research grants totaling more than $16.47 million (as of December 2024). In addition, ACS has been involved in efforts to improve screening rates and promote HPV vaccination:
For more information on HPV, visit cancer.org/hpv. For more information on screening for cervical cancer, visit cancer.org/getscreened.
