Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, yet a growing number of American women have never been screened.
Nearly 1 in 3 women ages 21 to 29 in 2023 had never received cervical cancer screening. This proportion was up from about 1 in 8 in 2005, according to a new study published August 27 in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Screening can detect precancerous changes so they can be treated before cancer develops, but the proportion of women ages 30 to 65 who had never been screened has also increased.
It’s concerning that so many women are missing this preventive care, so I turned to CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen to learn what people should know about when and how to be screened. Wen is an emergency physician and clinical associate professor at George Washington University. She previously served as Baltimore’s health commissioner.
CNN: What did this study find about how cervical cancer screening has changed?
