Buy backpacks, exercise machines, athletic shoes, and more at Fogdog Sports. Prevention Definition Cervical cancer is a disease in which the cells of the cervix become abnormal and start to grow uncontrollably, forming tumors. Cervical cancer generally begins as an abnormality in the cells on the outside of the cervix. Over a period of time, more changes may occur that make the cells cancerous. They start to grow uncontrollably and invade the deep layers of the cervix.
Cervical cancer is a very slow growing cancer.
The change in the cells from normal to pre-cancerous to cancerous is very gradual and may take several years to develop. For this reason, routine screening tests for cervical cancer are very important. It usually affects women between the ages of 40 and 55 years. Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women, with over 400,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The incidence is very high in developing countries.