Is Cervical Cancer Curable?
Women diagnosed with cervical cancer want to know: Is cervical cancer curable? Cervical cancer can be cured, especially if detected early and treated promptly.
Cervical cancer is a malignancy that begins in cells lining your cervix — the lower, narrow part of your uterus. About 14,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, and more than 4,300 women die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the CDC states no woman should die from cervical cancer — because cervical cancer is highly curable if it’s caught early.
Screening for cervical cancer with Pap tests and testing for infection with cancer-causing strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) can identify cervical cancer at the earliest stage, when cervical cancer is most curable. In fact, the Pap test can find changes in cells even before a malignancy develops.
Although cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for women in the U.S., over the last 40 years, the deaths from cervical cancer have dropped more than 50 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. While the main reason is the increased use of Pap tests, many advances have been made to treat and cure cervical cancer.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Is Cervical Cancer Hereditary?
Updated:  
May 18, 2023
Reviewed By:  
Janet O’Dell, RN