Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month: Five Cancers, One Month of Understanding

Five diseases under one heading

September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. The Foundation for Women's Cancer, which is the official foundation of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, runs the observance.

It covers five cancers: cervical, ovarian and primary peritoneal, uterine or endometrial, vaginal, and vulvar.

Grouping them by anatomy is useful for a campaign and misleading for a patient. They are found in different ways, they are staged differently, and only one of them has a routine screening test. What follows takes them one at a time.

Cervical cancer: the one with real screening

Cervical cancer starts in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus. Almost all cases trace to long-lasting infection with high-risk human papillomavirus, or HPV.

That is what makes screening possible. A Pap test collects cervical cells and checks them for changes caused by HPV that could turn into cancer if left alone. An HPV test looks for the virus itself. An HPV/Pap cotest does both on one sample.

NCI notes you may be able to collect the cervical sample yourself during the appointment. Ask about it if you want to.

NCI also flags a harm worth knowing: a Pap can come back abnormal when no precancer or cancer is there. A false positive means anxiety plus follow-up procedures that carry their own risks.

The American Cancer Society estimates about 13,490 new cervical cancer cases and 4,200 deaths in the United States in 2026, and SEER, NCI's cancer surveillance program, publishes both. Five-year relative survival across all stages was 68.8% for people diagnosed from 2016 through 2022.

Our page on cervical cancer screening has more detail, and the HPV vaccine overview covers prevention.

Uterine cancer: the one with a loud early symptom

Uterine cancer usually means endometrial cancer, which starts in the lining of the uterus.

There is no routine screening test. What there is instead is a symptom that shows up early and is hard to ignore. NCI says to check with a doctor about vaginal bleeding or discharge unrelated to a period, any vaginal bleeding after menopause, difficult or painful urination, pain during sex, or pain in the pelvic area.

That early warning shows in the numbers. SEER records 67% of uterine cancers found while still confined to the uterus, where five-year relative survival is 94.9% in the 2016 to 2022 group. The American Cancer Society expects about 68,270 new cases and 14,450 deaths in 2026. Across all stages, five-year relative survival is 80.9%.

Ovarian cancer: the one that hides

NCI groups ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer together because they arise in similar tissue and behave alike.

NCI is direct about the problem: these cancers may cause no early signs at all, and by the time symptoms appear the cancer is often advanced. The signs it lists are vague on purpose, because they really are vague. Pain, swelling, or pressure in the abdomen or pelvis. A sudden or frequent urge to urinate. A lump in the pelvic area. Gas, bloating, or constipation.

Those describe an ordinary bad week for most people. NCI's guidance is about persistence: if they get worse or do not go away on their own, see a doctor.

The stage numbers show what that costs. SEER records only 22% of ovarian cancers found while still local, where five-year relative survival is 91.9%. Fifty-four percent are found after spread to distant sites, at 31.5%. Overall five-year relative survival, again for 2016 to 2022, is 52.0%. The American Cancer Society expects about 21,010 new cases and 12,450 deaths in 2026.

Vulvar and vaginal cancer: the least common

Vulvar cancer is rare. The American Cancer Society expects about 7,130 new cases and 1,750 deaths in 2026, and SEER records 69.7% five-year relative survival overall for the 2016 to 2022 group. Fifty-eight percent are found while local, at 85.5%.

Vaginal cancer is rarer still. Neither has a screening test, so both depend on someone noticing a change and saying so. NCI lists the signs of vulvar cancer as a lump or growth on the vulva that looks like a wart or an ulcer, itching in the vulvar area that does not go away, and bleeding unrelated to a period.

When to get checked

Screening intervals, from NCI's summary of USPSTF guidance for average risk:

• Ages 21 to 29. First Pap test at 21, then a Pap every 3 years. No Pap is needed before 21, even if you are sexually active.
• Ages 30 to 65. An HPV test every 5 years, or an HPV/Pap cotest every 5 years, or a Pap test every 3 years.
• The American Cancer Society's updated guidance starts at 25 with an HPV test every 5 years through 65, with cotesting or Pap testing still acceptable.
• HPV vaccination does not replace screening. The vaccine does not cover every high-risk HPV type, so vaccinated people with a cervix still follow the schedule.

Symptoms that should prompt a call regardless of screening status:

• Any vaginal bleeding after menopause.
• Bleeding or discharge that is not part of a normal period.
• Bloating, pelvic pressure, or urinary urgency that persists for weeks rather than days.
• A lump or growth on the vulva, or itching there that will not settle.

What this observance does not mean

An awareness month cannot substitute for a test that does not exist. There is no general-population screening for ovarian, uterine, vulvar, or vaginal cancer, and no blood test or scan is recommended for women at average risk.

Nor do the survival percentages above describe anyone in particular. They are averages across whole populations diagnosed in past years, before some current treatments existed.

The one thing a September campaign can honestly do is make four of these five cancers findable earlier, by making the symptoms above familiar enough to report. Our overview of ovarian cancer goes further into what happens after a symptom is reported.

Sources

• Foundation for Women's Cancer: Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month
• Foundation for Women's Cancer: Mission and Vision
• NCI: Cervical Cancer Screening
• NCI PDQ: Endometrial Cancer Treatment (Patient Version)
• NCI PDQ: Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer Treatment (Patient Version)
• NCI SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Cervical Cancer
• NCI SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Uterine Cancer
• NCI SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Ovarian Cancer
• NCI: Symptoms of Vulvar Cancer
• NCI SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Vulvar Cancer

How this article was prepared

An AI-assisted editorial system helped prepare this page. No named medical reviewer has reviewed it unless one is listed.

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