Cervical cancer is the most common cancer of the reproductive system in women age 1534.

Roughly 12,800 new cases of invasive cervical cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, and approximately 33 percent of the individuals will eventually die of the condition. Another 34,900 patients are diagnosed with a less aggressive form of cervical cancer. The Uterine Cycle or menstrual cycle , is a repeating series of changes in the structure of the endometrium. The uterine cycle averages 28 days in length, but it can range from 21 to 35 days in healthy women of reproductive age. We can divide the cycle into three phases: (1) menses , (2) the proliferative phase , and (3) the secretory phase . The uterine cycle begins with the onset of menses, an interval marked by the degeneration of the functional zone of the endometrium. This degeneration occurs in patches and is caused by the constriction of the spiral arteries, which reduces blood flow to areas of endometrium. Deprived of oxygen and nutrients, the secretory glands and other tissues in the functional zone begin to deteriorate. Eventually, the weakened arterial walls rupture, and blood pours into the connective tissues of the functional zone. Blood cells and degenerating tissues then break away and enter the uterine lumen, to be lost by passage through the cervical os and into the vagina. The sloughing off of tissue is gradual, and at each site repairs begin almost at once. Nevertheless, before menses has ended, the entire functional zone has been lost. The process of endometrial sloughing, calledmenstruation, generally lasts from one to seven days. Over this period roughly 35 to 50 ml of blood is lost. The process can be relatively painless. Painful menstruation, or dysmenorrhea , can result from uterine inflammation and contraction or from conditions involving adjacent pelvic structures. The Proliferative Phase The basilar zone, including the basal parts of the uterine glands, survives menses intact. In the days after menses, the epithelial cells of these glands multiply and spread across the endometrial surface, restoring the integrity of the uterine epithelium. Further growth and vascularization result in the complete restoration of the functional zone. As this reorganization proceeds, the endometrium is in the proliferative phase . The restoration occurs at the same time as the enlargement of primary and secondary follicles in the ovary. The proliferative phase is stimulated and sustained by estrogens secreted by the developing ovarian follicles.