Every year, about 15,000 women in the United States learn that they have cancer of the cervix. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus, a pear shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen. The cervix forms a canal between the uterus and the vagina. Normally, cells in the body divide at a regular, steady rate.
New cells form and take the place of old or injured cells.
However, the cells sometimes divide abnormally, growing rapidly and forming a lump. The lump, also called a tumor, can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not cancer and do not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors are cancer. These cells can invade surrounding tissue and spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body.