The data provided by Bengaluru’s Aster CMI Hospital has found that a total of 67,000 women die of cervical cancer every year in India.

The hospital is currently conducting Pap Smear Test free of cost.

“In conjunction with Cervical Cancer Awareness Week, Aster RV Hospital is conducting a complimentary Pap Smear Test from January 23 to January 31 January 2023. Cervical cancer is the second most leading prevalent cancer in India. There are an estimated 123,000 new cases of cervical cancer in India every year with 67,000 deaths in women in India alone,” the hospital said in a statement.

Cervical health awareness is at most important. January of every year is marked as the month of cervical cancer awareness month.

Doctors said that cervical cancer usually takes many years to develop into an invasive disease and the mortality rate is low when it is detected in early stages. With the discovery of HPV infections and prophylactic vaccinations it is now possible to prevent cervical cancer in much earlier stages.

Dr Sunil Eshwar, Lead Consultant - Laparoscopic Surgeon, Aster CMI, said, “Recent studies show that screening of cervical cancer reduces the disease incidence and disease mortality by 50%. Cervical Cancers can be prevented at the earliest by detecting the presence of HPV. Regular population-based Screening is done using Pap smear cytology and it is accepted as the international screening Programmed. PAP smear screening helps in detecting the precancerous stages such as Low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, High grade Squamous intraepithelial neoplasia prevents from Cervical Cancer.”

A Pap smear, also called a Pap test, is a screening procedure for cervical cancer. It tests for the presence of precancerous or cancerous cells on your cervix. The cervix is the opening of the uterus. During the routine procedure, cells from your cervix are gently scraped away and examined for abnormal growth. Pap tests are very accurate. Regular Pap screenings reduce cervical cancer rates and mortality by at least 80 percent.