Cervical Cancer

 

Cervical Cancer: Are you at Risk of Being Caught by this Deadly Cancer – Preventive Measures You Should Take:

Most of the time, cervical cancer begins with cells present on the surface of the cervix. Cervix is found in the lower part of the women, this hollow cylinder connects the uterus with her vagina. This cancer can be spread to deeper tissues such as lungs, liver, bladder, vagina, or rectum and cause cell change in women’s cervix.

Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus and usually spread slowly, therefore, the chances to get its treatment on time are more.

It is most prevalent in women age 35 to 44 and according to a report more than 15% of cases can be seen in women over age 65.

Types of Cervical Cancer:

There are three types of cervical cancer are known.

Squamous cell carcinoma: It is the most common type of cancer and found in 90% of cases. It initiates in the lining of your cervix.

Adenocarcinoma: It mostly appears in the cells that are responsible to produce mucous in the cervix.

Mixed carcinoma: It has the properties of both the aforementioned types.

Risk Factors of Cervical Cancer:

Cervical Cancer is linked with infections with human papillomavirus and begins to change the structure of cervical tissues. You might be at risk if you fall in one of the following activity;

1. If you’ve started intercourse before age 16 or within the period of beginning your menstruation.
2. Have different sexual partners.
3. Take conception prevention pills, particularly for longer than 5 years
4. Smoke cigarettes
5. Have a debilitated immune system.
6. You are a victim of sexually transmitted disease (STD).

 

Symptoms of Cervical Cancer:

In initial stages the symptoms do not usually appear, it usually appears in late stages and these symptoms can be mistaken for common conditions such as menstruation or urinary tract infections (UTI).

Most common symptoms are:

1. Feel discomfort or pain while urinating.
2. Pain in pelvis.
3. Unusual vaginal discharge that smells or appears different than before.
4. Experience some bleeding before periods, after intercourse, or after menopause.

Note: Do not take any of the above-mentioned symptoms lightly and immediately contact your doctor for examination.

Stages of Cervical Cancer:

When cervical cancer has been diagnosed by the doctor, he/she further categorized it in stages. The stage basically reveals how much and how far cancer has been spread.

The four stages are the following:

 Stage 1: In the initial stage the cancer is small and has not spread to the other parts of the body except lymph nodes which become infected.

Stage 2: In this stage, the tumor starts increasing in size and ready to spread outside of the uterus and cervix.

Stage 3: The tumor starts spreading to the lower parts while blocking the tubes that carry urine from kidneys to the bladder. Other parts are yet safe.

Stage 4: In the last stage cancer has prevailed to the other parts (outside of pelvis) such as liver, lungs, or bones.

Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer:

The broadly used method to diagnose cervical cancer is Papanicolaou (Pap smear). In this method cells from the surface of the cervix are collected and the technicians examine them under a microscope by making a smear to observe any unusual change in cell structure.

Others tools used to examine are:

Colposcopy is like a pelvic examination after the diagnosis of a tumor, in which the cervix is a stain with some harmless dye such as acetic acid so that the cells become clear to examine deeply.

Loop electrosurgical excision procedure, in which your physician takes a sample of cervical tissue with the help of an electrified loop to examine and decide your treatment.

Conization, in this procedure the doctor removes the part of your cervix by operating.

Treatment of Cervical Cancer:

This cancer is treatable if you diagnose it in the early stages. The commonly used treatments are;

Surgery: The purpose of surgery is to remove the infected cells from the cervix. I the cancer is widely spread there, then in some cases, doctors remove the cervix or other organs in the pelvis to stop the progressiveness of infection.

Radiation therapy: By using a high energy X-ray beam, radiations are used to kill the cancerous cells. These radiations can be delivered through the outside machine or the inside metal tube that is inserted in the vagina or uterus.

Chemotherapy: Chemotherapeutic drugs are used to treat cancer but the usage period is short and in the cycle to give time to recover the body naturally.

Targeted therapy: Avastin is a newer drug used instead of using radiation or chemotherapy. This drug inhibits the growth of new blood vessels that mediate the cancer cells to grow and survive. This is often used with chemotherapy.

Preventive Measures for Cervical Cancer:

There are some precautions that you may take to avoid cervical cancer.

1. Get screened regularly such as Pap smear or hrHPV test.
2. This cancer is preventable by getting vaccinated by Gardasil and Cervarix, on time. It is for both boys and girls before they become sexually active.
3. Limit the number of partners for intercourse.
4. Always use a barrier method while having intercourse such as condoms.

By: Fatima Malik