Latino Women and Cervical Cancer

All women are at risk for cervical cancer but unfortunately Hispanic/Latino women have about twice the risk of developing cervical cancer, compared to other women.

Cervical cancer used to be the leading cause of death for U.S. women. With the widespread use of Pap test screening in the last 50 years, cervical cancer rates have declined significantly. Every year, there are about 11,000 new cases and approximately 3,800 deaths from cervical cancer.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 7.9 out of every 100,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year. Also, the CDC states Hispanic women have the highest incidence rate of cervical cancer, followed by black, white, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander women.

Black women have the highest death rate from cervical cancer, followed by Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, white, and Asian/Pacific Islander women. Approximately 2.4 out of every 100,000 women will die from cervical cancer annually. However, mortality rates of cervical cancer among Hispanic women are still 50 percent higher than those of non-Hispanic women, and incidence rates among Hispanics are twice the rates of non-Hispanic women.

Some experts believe the major reason for this difference is that Hispanic women are less likely to… <<more>>

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