Cervical cancer may soon be a thing of the past

What you probably already know: Between pap tests that detect cancer cells early and the HPV vaccine that has been approved since 2006, rates of cervical cancer have dropped significantly. Now, doctors think they can eliminate it completely. But that means targeting areas where patients are hardest to reach.

Why? There are pockets of the U.S. where people are still not getting the treatment they need, and cervical cancer rates have risen slightly in women ages 30-44 in recent years. The Wall Street Journal took a look at the state of Alabama, where there’s an effort to prove this cancer can be eradicated led by Merck, the maker of the HPV vaccine and a treatment for the disease called Keytruda.

What it means: Alabama hospitals have started sending buses to provide pap screenings to people who might otherwise not have access, and traveling nurses are making house calls in an effort to treat those with abnormal results.

What happens now? In addition to meeting people where they are, the efforts also include convincing parents to vaccinate their children against the disease, something that recent debates over vaccination have made more complicated. But it’s doable and cervical cancer could become the first cancer to be truly eradicated in the U.S.