One of the great myths of cervical cancer is that it only strikes women in impoverished countries like Somalia or Sierra Leone – countries that struggle to feed their people, let alone inoculate them against cancer. And to some degree, it’s true: cervical cancer kills more poor women than wealthy ones. Yet, even amid affluence, cervical cancer assails women no matter where they live. Persons with cervixes in the United States and other higher-income countries are routinely denied the means or knowledge for protecting themselves against this disease – even while sharing space with some of the world’s wealthiest inhabitants. In fact, those with female reproductive systems are marginalized everywhere, and thereby receive unequal access to the interventions for preventing this deadly cancer. The sound science for ridding the world of cervical cancer requires universal intolerance of the inequities that flourish in every corner of the globe. The political, social, cultural, and financial obstacles for eliminating this cancer must be addressed and removed, one by one, in order to give all persons with cervixes a fighting chance.

If cervical cancer ravages a woman’s body like fire, then screening acts like a smoke alarm – detecting and even stopping that fire before it starts. Cervical screening tests also save hundreds of thousands of lives every year, are generally more affordable, and target a much greater age range than HPV vaccination. Still, limited access to comprehensive screening and follow-up leaves women across the world vulnerable to being burned by cervical cancer. In Africa, India, and parts of Asia and South America, less than 10 percent of women receive any screening at all. Higher-income countries, where cervical screening is widely available, face innumerable obstacles to increased participation. Screening is available in name only in many U.S. states, which limit eligibility for public health insurance or withdraw funding for low-cost clinics. In higher-income countries, non-White, immigrant, or low-income women typically receive less screening. Researchers attribute low uptake to racial biases, geographic challenges, medical illiteracy, and cultural irrelevancy. But as long as citizens tolerate inequity, thousands of persons with cervixes will forgo lifesaving screening measures.

Doing away with cervical cancer worldwide turns out to be far more nuanced and difficult than it first appears. Despite the body’s ability to shed itself relatively easily of HPV and cervical pre-cancer, hundreds of thousands of persons with cervixes are dying and will continue to die. Too many have suffered already. The losses of these individuals strike a devasting blow, reverberating beyond families and through the heart of communities, tearing gashes in our social fabric – we are not built to lose so many women in the prime of their lives. Thankfully, we have what it takes: enough insight and tolerance to shift priorities and beliefs about preventing and treating a “woman’s cancer.” We have enough skills, resources, and determination to educate the world about the importance of cervical cancer prevention. We have enough disease-fighting resources to share with the people and places that need them most. We have enough to stop wasting women’s lives and begin treasuring them instead. We can take the exasperated cry of “enough” and use it to fuel our collective capacity to free the world of a disease that need no longer exist. We have enough to stop cervical cancer.

Aversion to the highly effective HPV vaccine has hobbled the global fight against cervical cancer. Nearly twenty years after introducing this vaccine – which, when given to young girls before they have sex, extinguishes the virus causing most forms of cervical cancer – many higher-income countries are reluctant to make sweeping use of its powers. In lower-income countries, high costs and low supplies have obstructed access to HPV vaccination. As a result, despite the combination of the HPV vaccine and cervical screening to eliminate cancer by catching or curing pre-cancer and early cancer, cervical cancer kills more persons with cervixes every year. In the absence of a significant intervention, the World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, nearly 700,000 women will be diagnosed yearly with cervical cancer – and 400,000 of those persons with cervixes will die. But there is no reason to lose hope. The very potency of the scientific tools currently available for cervical cancer prevention, along with a public commitment toward eliminating this disease, offers us the means to do away with this cancer for good.