About cervical cancer
Every year in the UK, over 2,800 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 1,000 women will die from the disease. After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged 35 and under.
Cervical cancer is not thought to be hereditary. Cervical cancer, in 99.7% of cases, is caused by persistent infection with a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a very common virus transmitted through skin to skin contact in the genital area. Up to 80% of people of reproductive age will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives. However, for the majority of women this will not result in cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is rare while HPV infection is common.
