Are you aware of Cervical Cancer? It is second most common cancer among the women worldwide with more than 0.5 million new cases and 2,60,000 death per year globally. Of these, almost 80 percent of cases occur in the middle and lower-income countries. In this post, I will share about symptoms, how you can avoid it, get a vaccine against Cervical cancer, and what you can do if it happens.
Cervical Cancer and its symptoms
About Cervical Cancer
Cervix cancer is a disease that affects the cervix in the female reproductive system. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that connects the vagina with the uterus. During the time of birth, the cervix dilates allows the baby to travel from uterus to vagina.
Symptoms of Cervical Cancer
It is usually slow-growing cancer that may not have the signs in the early stage. As the disease will get, advance women may experience the following problems-
- Abnormal vaginal bleeding
- Pain during sexual intercourse
- Pelvic pain
- Vaginal discharge
- Leaking of urine
Causes of Cervical Cancer
One of the main risk for developing Cervical cancer being infected with the Human papillomavirus (HPV).HPV is the common virus that generally transmitted through sexual contact, smoking, HIV infection, having sex at an early stage, multiple sexual partners, and having a weak immune system.
Related: Breast Cancer Awareness
Cervical Cancer Prevention
As of there is no strict set of measures one can take to avoid Cervical Cancer except for getting the vaccine. However, the general rule follows, which includes avoiding things which can cause cancer, and maintain a healthy lifestyle, including food. More below.
How is Cervical Cancer treated
The first step to treat cervical cancer is to do a test known as Pap smear. Under this test, the doctor examined the cervical cells under the microscope. After the examination, according to the stage and the result, the treatment methods are performed. It may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, etc. Treatment may vary from person to person.
However, Doctor across the country has been urging parents to get their young daughter vaccinated against cancer. Global guidelines state that HPV vaccines need to be administered to a girl before she becomes sexually active. The vaccines are designed to protect against some strains of HPV that account for at least 70 percent of cervical cancer cases across the world.
According to the National Cancer Institute, Approximately 4,600 women were projected to die in 2001 in the US of cervical cancer (DSTD), and the annual incidence was 13,000 in 2002 in the US, as calculated by SEER. As per the reports, 74,000 Indian women die because of cervical cancer annually.