Menu JANUARY IS CERVICAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH Did you know? Cervical cancer is caused by a common virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. For most people, HPV clears on its own. But for others who don't clear the virus, HPV can lead to certain diseases, like cervical cancer, as well as vaginal, vulvar and anal cancer and genital warts. HPV often has no visible signs or symptoms, so many people are not even aware that they have it. That means someone can pass on the virus without knowing it. IN THE U.S. THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 12,900 NEW CERVICAL CANCER CASES EACH YEAR AN ESTIMATED 35 WOMEN ARE DIAGNOSED EACH DAY HALF OF NEW GENITAL HPV INFECTIONS EACH YEAR OCCUR IN PEOPLE AGES 15-24 WORLDWIDE CERVICAL CANCER IS THE FOURTH MOST FREQUENT CANCER IN WOMEN AN ESTIMATED 528,000 CERVICAL CANCER CASES ARE DIAGNOSED GLOBALLY EACH YEAR; MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF THE CASES OCCUR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, IT IS OFTEN THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF CANCER-RELATED DEATH AMONG WOMEN See how one woman's unexpected diagnosis of cervical cancer affected her and her family See stories from more women on the HPV Stories YouTube Page MEN CAN BE AFFECTED BY HPV-RELATED CANCER AND DISEASES, TOO. Cervical Health Awareness Month is a chance to raise awareness about the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, as well as other HPV-related diseases – some of which can affect men as well as women: HPV-RELATED GENITAL WARTS AND ANAL CANCER CAN AFFECT BOTH MALES AND FEMALES TREATMENT OF GENITAL WARTS CAN BE PAINFUL, AND THEY MAY RECUR AFTER TREATMENT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OVERALL RATES OF ANAL CANCER HAVE BEEN INCREASING IN THE U.S. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HPV AND WAYS TO HELP PREVENT THE DISEASES AND CANCERS IT MAY CAUSE: Speak with your doctor | Visit CDC.gov Copyright. © 2009-2017 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Forward-Looking Statement Privacy Terms of Use Site Map