The California Medical Association Foundation has joined forces with other health advocates across the nation to promote Cervical Health Awareness Month in January.

Cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer worldwide and causes 250,000 deaths a year, including 4,000 in the United States. Each year, nearly 1,400 California women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 400 die from the disease.

Cervical cancer is one of the few preventable cancers that can be detected through an inexpensive screening and also prevented through a vaccine.

Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Millions of American women are infected with HPV, but due to its often symptomless nature, a woman can be unaware of her risk of developing cervical cancer.

While cervical cancer affects all races, Latina and African American women have the highest death rates. In California, Latinas are diagnosed with cervical cancer twice as often as Caucasian women. Research shows that 10 percent of Latinas in California have never had a Pap test, and 30 percent have not had a test in three years.

An array of resources for physicians, other healthcare providers and consumers, including online clinical education resources and multilingual patient education materials, are available at the website www.thecmafoundation.org/projects/hpv.

Women can see if they qualify for free breast and cervical cancer screenings by calling (800) 511-2300 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.