What is cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer starts in cells lining the cervix. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus (womb).
It is sometimes called the uterine cervix. The body of the uterus (the upper part) is where a fetus
grows. The cervix connects the body of the uterus to the vagina (birth canal). The part of the
cervix closest to the body of the uterus is called the endocervix. The part next to the vagina is the
exocervix (or ectocervix). The 2 main types of cells covering the cervix are squamous cells (on
the exocervix) and glandular cells (on the endocervix). The place these cell types meet is called
the transformation zone. The exact location of the transformation zone changes as you age and
with childbirth. Most cervical cancers start in the cells in the transformation zone.