2. Women above the age of 30 years should go in for screening to rule out the cancer.

3. Poor hygiene, improper diet, early marriage and multiple pregnancies can also lead to cervical cancer.

4. The women, who are mostly in the 35-45 year age group, fall in the pre-cancer stage. They must go in for a regular check-up.

Regular screening, good hygiene and proper diet among the females can go a long way in preventing cervical cancer, the most prevalent form of cancer among the women in India. With more than one lakh women being detected as suffering from cancer each year in India, doctors say that due to delayed investigation around 50,000 of them lose their lives every year.

“Cervical cancer is fully curable if it is diagnosed at an early stage. Since the disease is asymptomatic in the pre-cancer stage, where there are a few symptoms to detect it, only repeated screening can make it possible to detect the cancer at an early stage,’’ says Prof Kusum Varma, Head, Department of Pathology and Dean, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

Vaginal discharge and bleeding can be the symptoms in some cases, which the women should take note of and consult the gynaecologists to rule out cervical cancer.

Advocating regular screening for women to save themselves from the disease, Dr Neerja Chawla, a city-based gynaecologist, says, “Women above the age of 30 years should get themselves screened to detect cervical cancer. Even if the tests are negative, the women should get themselves checked after every five years.

The tests are not very expensive and those who can afford them should take it as a healthy investment. More than 95 per cent of the cervical cancers detected at an early stage are fully treatable.’’

Indian studies have shown that the peak incidence for the cancer in the country is among the women in the age group of 45 to 55 years. However, the most crucial pre-cancer stage is between 35 to 45 years. This means that the pre-cancer condition can be detected 10 years in advance, and treatment can be started to prevent it from expanding.

“The disease is fully preventable and if it is detected early. The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is largely responsible for causing this cancer. However, multiple pregnancies, poor genital hygiene and early marriage also lead to the problem.