As many as 8 million adult women haven’t had a cervical cancer screening in five years, denying them the opportunity to exercise prevention or early treatment, federal health officials said this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say more than half of women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer had at best been rarely screened, and many times never, according to an NBC News report.

Health experts recommend that women get a Pap smear or a test for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cancer. If found early, doctors can potentially prevent it while it’s still curable.

About 12,000 American women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and 4,000 die from it. The CDC says every visit to a health care provider should be treated as an opportunity to prevent cervical cancer.

“We must increase our efforts to make sure that all women understand the importance of getting screened for cervical cancer. No woman should die from cervical cancer,” said CDC’s deputy director, Ileana Arias.

National surveys from 2012 suggest that 11.4 percent of women reported that they had not been screened for cervical cancer in the past five years. In 23 percent of cases, that was because women lacked health insurance, and in 25 percent of cases, it was because they didn’t have a regular health care provider.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act mandates health insurance providers to allow free cancer screenings.

Cervical cancer rates are highest in the South, which has 8.5 cases per 100,000 and a death rate of 2.7 per 100,000. Researchers believe that this is due to a lack of transportation as well as a mistrust of the health care system.