Cervical Cancer – Symptoms and Causes of It

The cervix is found in the lower uterus which connects to the vagina and it is called the neck of the womb. When cancer appears in the cervix is called cervical cancer. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the cause of the majority of cervical cancer. When you administer the HPV vaccine, it prevents HPV successfully.

Symptoms of cervical cancer:

Cervical cancer could be diagnosed only in the advanced stages. Some of the symptoms are:

• Abnormal bleeding i.e. bleeding between the menstrual periods, after a pelvic exam, after sex or after menopause.
• Frequent urination
• A discharge which is unusual in amount, consistency, color and smell
• Painful urination
• Pelvic Pain

It is ideal to have regular screening of the cervix. When you have these symptoms, please take advice from the best cancer hospital in India.

HPV is the reason for almost every cervical cancer. Certain strains of the virus make the cervical cells to become abnormal. Over a period of time, these cells become cancerous.  Women who are exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) when their mother was pregnant, have higher chances of cervical cancer. It is normally administered for preventing miscarriage. DES is connected to abnormal cells found in the cervix as well as the vagina. There is no test available to check the use of DES.

Causes:

The following are the causes of cervical cancer:

1. HPV
2. Smoking
3. Having many sexual partners or becoming sexually active early
4. Birth control pills
5. A weekend immune system
6. Socio-economic status
7. Other sexually transmitted diseases

Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer:

The doctor will diagnose it through a Pap test by swabbing your cervix with the help of a device that looks like a cotton swab. After this, they will send it to the laboratory for examining cancerous or precancerous cells. It is ideal to do a Pap test once in three years or the HPV test as well as a Pap test once in five years. The HPV test is just like a Pap test. From the cervix, cells are collected by the doctor in a similar way. In the lab, they will check whether the cells have the genetic material associated with the HPV. This might be DNA or RNA of HPV strands. Even if you take the HPV vaccine, you should still do cervical examination regularly. It is ideal for the women to discuss with the doctors regarding the timing of the Pap tests. Sometimes you might have to do it very often. This is due to the following conditions that exist in women:

• HIV
• Long term steroid use
• An organ transplant

Based on your circumstances, your doctors in the best cancer hospital in India might recommend the screening frequently.

Treatment:

Cervical cancer treatment will vary from one person to another. Some of the options for treatment are surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc. Based on the stage of cancer, age and the overall state of health of a person, the treatment will be determined. During earlier stages when cancer is within the cervix, it is easier to treat. But if it spreads to other areas, the success rate is lower. In most cases, cervical cancer will get diagnosed only at the advanced stage for which surgery is not an option. At an advanced stage, this cancer is called invasive cancer as it has spread to other areas. This type of cancer requires extensive treatment which could be either radiation therapy or a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  Doctors, at the advanced stage, will also provide palliative therapy to relieve symptoms thereby improve the quality of life.

Thus, there is a cervical cancer treatment available in all leading hospitals in India.