(CNN) Marcia Cross wants to continue to make it her mission to discuss her battle with anal cancer.

The actress tells CNN she cares deeply about being able to "educate the public about HPV."

Actress Marcia Cross

Cross, 57, revealed her diagnosis in a series of Instagram photos in 2018. She appeared on "CBS This Morning" last week to reveal that her type of cancer was due to the human papillomavirus, known as HPV.

"In spite of the optics, I care deeply about saving lives," Cross wrote in an email to CNN. "To that end, the important thing to do is to educate the public about HPV. It is so common that nearly every person who is sexually active will get it at some point in their lifetime. HPV can cause cervical and other cancers... It can take years, even decades to develop."

Cross' husband, Tom Mahoney was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009 and doctors suspect that Cross' cancer and Mahoney's came from the same type of HPV.

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