It is a rare occurrence that the medical community has the opportunity to virtually eliminate a disease, but that is exactly the long-term goal for cervical cancer. January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity to raise awareness about cervical cancer prevention. The American Cancer Institute estimated that in 2025 there were nearly 14,000 newly diagnosed cases of cervical cancer. However, a combination of vaccinations and proactive screenings is successfully moving the needle to help make cervical cancer a disease of the past.
Over 99% of the cervical cancer cases diagnosed each year can be linked back to a single virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a common virus spread through intimate contact. It is so common, in fact, that 80-90% of people will have an HPV infection in their lifetime. Most will never have symptoms.
More complex still, HPV can become dormant for months or years, resurfacing later in life. There are over 200 different strains of HPV. While the majority are likely to be cleared by the immune system, there are over a dozen strains that are considered high-risk for causing cancer (including cancers of the throat, tonsils, tongue, penis, vulva, and more). Of those, just two are responsible for the majority of HPV-related cancers. These two high-risk HPV strains, HPV-16 and HPV-18, are largely responsible for the most common cause of cancer death for American women: cervical cancer.
While a world with no cervical cancer may sound too good to be true, there are data to back up such a bold claim. In the United States, from 2012 to 2019, women under the age of 25 saw rates of cervical cancer decrease by 65%. This significant decrease is due largely to the introduction of an HPV vaccine, Gardasil, in 2006. Despite this exciting progress, there is still work to be done, and St. Christopher Fund is proud to be part of that work.
Along with HPV vaccinations, preventative screenings are an important part of continuing to reduce cervical cancer rates. Until recently, preventative cervical cancer screenings have required women to attend in-office appointments for a pelvic exam and an HPV and/or Pap test. In May 2025, the FDA approved an at-home HPV test, and these tests are now available nationwide. As part of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, St. Christopher Fund is excited to announce the introduction of cervical cancer screenings to our Get Preventative Screenings (GPS) program to go alongside colorectal cancer screenings and prostate cancer screenings.
HPV testing is currently recommended every 5 years for women ages 30-65. After age 65, women can stop testing if previous HPV and Pap testing results were normal and there is no history of precancerous tissue. Women ages 21-29 are recommended to complete a Pap test every 3 years as regular HPV testing may lead to unnecessary treatment for HPV infections that are likely to clear on their own.
Early detection of high-risk HPV infections and cervical cancer, like many diseases, leads to better outcomes. HPV lesions can be removed through a number of in-office treatments or procedures. However, once a lesion has progressed to cancerous tissue, a more robust treatment is needed, and long-term outlook starts to waver. In early stages, the five-year survival rate for cervical cancer is 91%. However, if given time to metastasize or spread to other areas, the 5-year survival rate drops significantly. With regional spread, five-year survival is 62% and if given the opportunity to spread further in the body, the five-year survival drops to a grim 19.5%. The good news is that cervical cancer is a slow-growing form of cancer, often taking many years to develop from HPV lesions that can be easily detected and treated.
At-home HPV testing removes many of the common barriers to staying up to date on cervical cancer screenings, particularly for OTR drivers. There is no longer a need for an in-office visit for cervical cancer screening unless an individual is experiencing symptoms or has an abnormal test result. It may be even more of a relief for some that at-home screening also eliminates a speculum, cold doctor’s office, and paper gown! The at-home testing process consists of a simple vaginal swab, which is then returned in a pre-paid mailer to a certified lab. Participants can expect results within a couple of weeks.
St. Christopher Fund is finalizing details on a partnership to provide at-home cervical cancer screenings for free to Class A OTR drivers nationwide. To pre-register for a kit or to register for our other at-home cancer screening kits, please visit https://truckersfund.org/gps/. We welcome your questions, comments, and ideas for new topics, which can be sent to Health & Wellness Manager, Lindsey Bryan, at health@truckersfund.org.