(This story has been revised to correct the spelling of a name.)

Cervical cancer is curable if it’s detected early via a Pap test, one of the most effective cancer screening tests available.

The University of Michigan Health System is offering free Pap screenings 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Briarwood Building 2, Suite B, 400 E. Eisenhower Parkway in Ann Arbor in order to increase the number of women screened for cervical cancer.

A Pap test looks for abnormal cells in the cervix, said Mack Ruffin, a professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Michigan.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the human papillomavirus, an incredibly common sexually transmitted disease, is behind most cases of cervical cancer.

What’s less clear is why some women with HPV will develop cervical cancer, and others never do, Ruffin said. More than 12,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year and 4,000 women will die from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“It’s important to be proactive and ask about it and acknowledge it is an infection that, if it’s there, we need to do something different,” Ruffin said. “It has no implications about what you’re doing, it just makes a difference in terms of what you’re going to do.”

The screenings are open to women 21 and older who have not had a Pap test in the last two years and who do not have medical coverage for a Pap test. To schedule a free screening, (800) 865-1125.

Juliana Keeping is a health and environment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter