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Comedienne and star of popular sitcom “Moesha,”  Yvette Wilson died on Thursday June 14th, she was 48. Wilson, who played “Andell Wilkerson” on the show starring Brandy, had Stage 4 cervical cancer.

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Yvette Wilson - Getty Images

Wilson has appeared on House Party 2, House Party 3, Friday, and on Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam.

The actress was not only battling cancer but  kidney problems as well. Her friend, Jeffrey Pittle, created a website, so that people could donate money to help with her medical bills and help with transportation costs.

Cervical cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the cervix. According to Web MD, the cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus (the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a fetus grows). The cervix leads from the uterus to the vagina (birth canal).

Anatomy of the female reproductive system. The organs in the female reproductive system include the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, and vagina. The uterus has a muscular outer layer called the myometrium and an inner lining called the endometrium.

Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time. Before cancer appears in the cervix, the cells of the cervix go through changes known as dysplasia, in which cells that are not normal begin to appear in the cervical tissue. Later, cancer cells start to grow and spread more deeply into the cervix and to surrounding areas.

Study below explains why Black Women are more likely to die of Cervical Cancer .

Black women have more persistent infections with human papillomavirus (HPV), which may explain their greater likelihood of dying from cervical cancer, according to a new study conducted at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, in the United States of America.

Researchers who observed 326 white and 113 black students who all received Pap and HPV tests every six months, found stark differences in infection lengths.

During checkups, blacks were 1.5 times more prone to test positive for an HPV strain linked to cancer, according to the research. Ten percent of blacks had abnormal Pap tests, compared to 6 percent of whites. Two years subsequent to init ial infection detection, 56 percent of blacks remained infected, compared to 24 percent of whites.

In an explanation, it was disclosed that the African-American women weren’t clearing the virus as fast and were actually holding onto it about six months longer, for 18 months versus 12 months.

The findings, presented in Chicago at a conference of the American Association for Cancer Research, are said to be “provocative,” but need validation through a study focused on more than one region. Pap screenings received according to US guidelines are credited with the nation’s dramatic decline in cervical cancer.

However, 12,000 new cases and 4,200 deaths from cervical cancer occur annually, mostly in unscreened or infrequently screened women. The vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix target the HPV strains that cause most cases of the cancer.

Certain strains of HPV cause cervical cancer; however, brief infections are routine in young women and usually clear on their own within one year. Longer infections pose the cancer risk.

Get screened for Cervical Cancer today.