New Delhi, Jan. 19 -- For many illnesses, symptoms act as an early warning system. Cervical cancer, however, often progresses quietly - and that silence can prove dangerous.

"Cervical cancer is one of the most commonly seen cancers in women, yet it remains among the most preventable," says Dr Padma Srivastava, senior consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Motherhood Hospitals, Lullanagar, Pune. The challenge, she explains, is that the disease rarely shows symptoms in its early stages, leading many women to delay medical care.

Cervical cancer develops in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus connecting it to the vagina. In most cases, it grows slowly over several years. Before cancer sets in, abnormal or precancerous cells begin...