There were approximately 12,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the United States in 2008, and about 4,000 women died of it.

What it is
Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix (the lower part of the uterus). The uterus is a muscular organ located in the pelvic cavity of females in which the fertilized egg implants and develops. It is also called the womb.that connects to the vagina. The vagina is a 3- to 4-inch tube. Its upper part ends at the cervix and the lower part opens to the outside onto the vulva, the external female genitals.). It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope).
Growths on the cervix can be benign (polyps, cysts, genital warts)—rarely a threat to life, don't invade the tissues around them—or malignant (cervical cancer). Although cervical cancer begins in cells on the surface of the cervix, over time, it can invade more deeply into the cervix and nearby tissues. The cancer cells can spread by breaking away from the original (primary) tumor. They enter blood vessels or lymph vessels, which branch into all the tissues of the body. The cancer cells may attach to other tissues and grow to form new tumors that may damage those tissues.