POONAM PANDEY

On 3rd of February, Indian Actress and Model, Poonam Pandey's Instagram made a post out of the blue, saying that the actress breathed her last, succumbing to Cervical Cancer and that she has been suffering from it, from quite a while.

Numerous people have addresses their condolences, mainstream media organized special shows to speak about this and fans from everywhere mourned for her. And then happened something which shook everyone. Another Instagram post was made from her account the following day saying that the death claim was just a hoax and that it was made to create awareness about Cervical Cancer. Numerous people are criticizing her for utilizing media to trick people and spreading false awareness.

Disregarding the outrageous media stunt from an influential personality like Poonam Pandey, let's just divert our focus on to the actual important issue here: Cervical Cancer.

Cervix is the lower, narrow end of the Uterus (Womb) and it connects the Uterus to the Vagina. The Uterus is where a baby grows during pregnancy. Anyone with a cervix is at a risk for Cervical Cancer. It occurs most often in people over age 30. Longlasting infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. HPV is a common virus that is passed from one person to another during sex. At least half of sexually active people will have HPV at some point in their lives, but few will get cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time. Before cancer appears in the cervix, the cells of the cervix go through changes known as dysplasia, in which abnormal cells begin to appear in the cervical tissue. Over time, if not destroyed or removed, the abnormal cells may become cancer cells and start to grow and spread more deeply into the cervix and to surrounding areas.

Typically, it takes 15-20 years for abnormal cells to become cancer, but in women with weakened immune systems, such as untreated HIV, this process can be faster and take 5-10 years.