Make no mistake - cervical cancer is a cancer, and it's a killer. But in many other respects it's different to other cancers. Firstly, it's almost invariably caused by a virus - in this case the human papillomavirus, or HPV. There are many strains of HPV, and only a few lead to cancer (others cause genital warts). HPV is so common that pretty much any woman who's ever had sex is at risk, even if her only ever partner is her husband.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/news-and-features/are-you-ever-too-old-for-a-smear-test