More than 2,000 women in Japan will die from cervical cancer this year, and several thousand more cases will be diagnosed — even though many other advanced nations consider it a preventable disease.
"Unfortunately, I have had a surgical operation to remove my entire womb," actress Yoriko Doguchi said in reciting a passage from her book at a recent event in Tokyo promoting cervical cancer prevention.
"By all means, please get a checkup so that there will be no more people like me," Doguchi told the audience. She is the author of "Shikyu Kaigi" ("Uterus Conference"), which chronicles her struggle against cancer.