It killed more than 63,000 Indian women in India in 2015. That’s almost a-fourth of all cancer deaths recorded amongst women in 2015, according to estimates by the Indian Council for Scientific Research.
The numbers are alarming.
Almost all cervical cancer is caused by one of the 170 strains of the human papilloma virus or HPV. Since the virus is mostly sexually transmitted, the myth is that only ‘adventurous women’ will get the disease. But adventurousness is hardly a prerequisite for this cancer. The virus is so common that skin-to-skin contact (and not really and intercourse) is enough to transmit the STD.
It affects about 80% of all women under the age of 50 without them ever knowing about it, the immune system of nearly 90% women will clear the virus on their own. However, the virus is not without a risk.