Understanding Cervical Cancer
It is thought that cervical cancer can be largely prevented by getting routine pap smears. Pap smears can detect precancerous cells before they progress into invasive cervical cancer. These precancerous cells are known as cervical dysplasia, and can be a precursor to cancer of the cervix. Risk factors for cervical cancer and cervical dysplasia include the human papilloma virus, or HPV and smoking. It is not well understood if smoking is, in itself, a risk factor for dysplasia or cervical cancer, or if it exacerbates the HPV virus’s effect on cervical cells. Smoking, however, does cause an accumulation of noxious toxins to collect in the cervix so it may be an independent risk factor all its own.
Symptoms of cervical cancer include vaginal bleeding or spotting in-between periods, post and intracoital bleeding and watery discharge. Furthermore, invasive cervical cancer can cause heavy bleeding, pelvic pain and foul-smelling vaginal discharge. It is important to note, however, that these symptoms can be related to other, less serious causes, but they need to be evaluated by a medical professional to rule out cervical cancer.
Signs of cervical dysplasia, or abnormal changes in the cells, can sometimes stop even without treatment. Mild cases are sometimes monitored for progression before treatment is initiated. If a pap smear comes back as abnormal, it may be repeated, or the health care provider may recommend further testing such as a biopsy. Generally, the biopsy is more conclusive than the pap smear and can give the practitioner a better understanding of the extent of abnormal cervical tissue. Treatments that involve lasers are typically effective in alleviating dysplastic cervical cells, however, after cervical cancer has been diagnosed, a hysterectomy may be the only reasonable treatment.
Pap smear protocol has been largely debated among health care professionals. Some agree that if women get three pap smears in a row that do not show any signs of cell abnormalities, they do not have to get another one for three years. Other health care professionals disagree and believe that pap smears should be performed every year, regardless of past history. In addition, most physicians agree that if a woman has had a hysterectomy with removal of her cervix for reasons other than severe dysplasia or cervical cancer, she can also forego having routine pap smears. The take away message here, is that women need to discuss their options with their health care providers, who can recommend the best pap smear routines for them. Regardless of the pap smear timetable, women who experience abnormal symptoms need to see their physicians regardless of when they had their last pap smear.