“A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For example, exposing skin to strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for many cancers. But having a risk factor, or even several, does not mean that you will get the disease.

Several risk factors can increase your chance of developing cervical cancer. People without any of these risk factors rarely develop cervical cancer. Although these risk factors can increase the odds of developing cervical cancer, many with these risks do not develop this disease.

When you think about risk factors, it helps to focus on those you can change or avoid (like smoking or human papillomavirus infection), rather than those you cannot (such as your age and family history). However, it is still important to know about risk factors that cannot be changed, because it’s even more important for those who have these factors to get regular screening tests to find cervical cancer early.”

American Cancer Society (Cervical Cancer Risk Factors | Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer | American Cancer Society)