January: Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Cervical cancer was once a leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. Today, screening and prevention have greatly reduced the impact of this form of cancer. Still, nearly 14,500 women in the United States received a diagnosis of cervical cancer and more than 4,200 died from the disease last year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Increasing screening and prevention are key components of the effort to eradicate cervical cancer. Since almost all cases of the disease are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, vaccines that protect against the virus could...