Cervical cancer remains one of the most common yet most preventable cancers affecting women especially in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan. Despite medical advancements, thousands of women remain unaware of the silent risk developing inside their bodies.
The main cause? A virus called HPV (Human Papillomavirus) often spread through sexual contact. Most infections clear on their own, but when they don’t, they can cause changes in the cervix that may turn into cancer over 10 to 20 years. Women aged 30 to 50 are most commonly diagnosed, but HPV often enters the body much earlier sometimes in the early 20s. All women who are, or have been, sexually active are at some level of risk.
HPV vaccine ideally given between ages 9 to 26
Regular Pap smear tests from age 25 or 30 onward
Safe sexual hygiene and health checkups
Doctors urge public health systems to expand access to screening programs, subsidize the HPV vaccine, and break the cultural silence around women’s reproductive health.
