Cervical Cancer
Ready for some good news? This cancer is slow-moving, detectable and easily treated if caught in its early stages. More good news? Researchers have discovered a vaccine for the most common cause of cervical cancer, the sexually-transmitted disease Human Papillomavirus (HPV). When this FDA-approved vaccine called Gardisil is made available to women, cervical cancer rates should drop dramatically low.

While the Center for Disease Control reports that approximately half of all sexually active people acquire a genital HPV infection during their lifetime, a relatively small percentage of these infections develop into full-blown cervical cancer. With an annual liquid pap test (which is accurate 85% of the time), infections can be caught before they become cancerous. Because the disease has a long premalignant phase, if the first liquid pap test does not identify an infection, it can usually be caught and dealt with during the next annual exam. Also, if women opt for an additional HPV test along with their pap smear (which is highly recommended for women ages 30 and over), they can also know how at-risk they are for cervical cancer.