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Cancer occurs when normal body cells get out of control, multiply and spread. These cells clump together to form a cancerous or malignant tumour that can then grow and damage healthy parts of the body.
Before they become cancerous, cells in the cervix go through a series of pre-cancerous changes.
These changes are not cancer, but if left untreated they may turn into invasive cancer of the cervix.
The name given to these abnormal, non-cancerous cells is cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (or CIN). CIN can be detected through the cervical screening test, and can be treated before it turns into cancer.
