Cervical Cancer and HPV: What You Need To Know


Get The Facts

Women's HealthHave you been tested?

Cervical cancer is the only cancer caused by a single virus -- the human papillomavirus (HPV). Check out the facts on why you should get tested.

  • Fact 1:

    The Pap alone is not foolproof.

  • Fact 2:

    By combining the HPV and Pap tests, the ability to identify women at risk for cervical cancer increases virtually 100 percent.

  • Fact 3:

    There are 100 types of HPV. Of these, about 13-high-risk types are known to cause virtually all cases of cervical cancer. Two of these types (16 and 18) are believed to cause 70 percent of these cases.

  • Fact 4:

    Cervical cancer kills 288,000 women annually worldwide.

  • Fact 5:

    A study published in the ‘Journal of the National Cancer Institute’ found that one-third of all cervical cancer cases can be attributed to Pap test detection failure.

    For more information, visit www.thehpvtest.com.

    Lets Talk About It:

    Badmamajama15214 Said: My girlfriend just found out today that she has HPV, and it's severe on her cervix. She is actually entertaining the thought that it could be from her past and not from her boyfriend she's been with for four years and has two children with. I am so frustrated for her, but when a man gets into your spirit it is a hard thing to change. Join this discussion.

    AdLeBrock Said: Yesterday I went for my six week check-up and all was well. Now my gynecologist made an appointment for the following month for me to have my pap smear, as she couldn’t do it then. So we started talking about cervical cancer affecting more black women than other women of other races.

    So I was waiting for a detailed medically informed explanation as to why this is. I have always thought that the reason would be that there’s something in our make up as black women that made us more vulnerable to the disease. And this is what she had to say:

    The reason why black women get it more is because we, as black women, tend to start our sexual relations earlier and we are more likely to have numerous sexual partners. Well, I was shocked, not to mention offended, as she went through the statistics. So I asked if this explanation applied to all black women around the globe and she said ‘yes.’ Read More & Discuss.