Cancer is a group of diseases which causes cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most cancers are named after the part of the body where they first begin.
Cervical cancer begins in the lining of the cervix.
The cervix is the lower part of the uterus which connects the body of the uterus to the vagina. There are two main types of cervical cancer. About 85 percent to 90 percent of these cancers are squamous cell carcinomas and the other 10 to 15 percent are adenocarcinomas. Now it accounts for just 6 percent of all cancers in women. The American Cancer Society estimates that 12,900 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in the year 2001.