Showing posts with label Cervical Cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cervical Cancer. Show all posts

Saturday, 20 August 2011

Prevention Of Cervical Cancer

To reduce the risk of cervical cancer if:

Use a condom every time you have sex, reduce the risk of HPV

Delay first intercourse

Having fewer sexual partners

Avoid smoking

Get vaccinated against HPV

Get vaccinated against HPV

Vaccines can protect against the most dangerous types of HPV - the virus that plays a role in the development of cervical cancer the most. Vaccination is available for girls aged 9 to 12 and the girls and women aged 13 to 26 if they have not already received the vaccine. The vaccine is most effective if administered to girls before they become sexually active.

Despite hopes that the vaccine prevents cervical cancer more, you can not prevent infection with every virus that causes cervical cancer. Routine Pap tests for cervical cancer remain high.

Routine Pap tests

Routine Pap tests can detect precancerous lesions of the cervix that can be followed or treated to prevent cervical cancer. Work with your doctor to determine the best schedule for Pap smears. Most organizations suggest that women begin routine Pap tests at age 21 years and tests every 1-3 years.

If you are at high risk of cervical cancer, Pap tests will be needed more often. If you have had a hysterectomy, talk with your doctor whether to continue the Pap test. If the hysterectomy was performed for a noncancerous condition such as fibroids, may be able to end the routine Pap tests, but not to pelvic exams. If the hysterectomy was carried out in a precancerous or cancerous condition, your vaginal canal still needs to be checked for abnormal changes.

Trement Of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer treatment depends on several factors such as stage of cancer, the health problems you may have and their preferences regarding treatment. Treatment options may include:

Surgery. Surgery to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) is usually treated with early stages of cervical cancer. A simple hysterectomy involves the removal of cancer of the cervix and uterus. A simple hysterectomy is usually an option only when the cancer is at a very early stage - the attack is less than 3 millimeters (mm) of the cervix. Radical hysterectomy - removal of the cervix, vagina and lymph nodes in the region - is the standard surgical treatment, when the attack is more than 3 mm into the cervix.

Hysterectomy can cure early stage cervical cancer and prevent cancer from returning, but the removal of the uterus, it is impossible to become pregnant.

Radiation protection. Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy can be administered externally via external or internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy) by placing the device filled with radioactive material near your cervix. Radiotherapy is as effective as surgery for cervical cancer at an early stage. For women with more advanced cervical cancer, radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy is considered the most effective treatment.

Both methods of radiotherapy can be combined. Radiotherapy may be used alone, with chemotherapy before surgery to shrink a tumor or after surgery to kill remaining cancer cells. Premenopausal women may stop menstruating due to radiation and begins menopause.

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs, which can be used alone or in combination, usually into a vein and travels throughout the body to kill rapidly growing cells, including cancer cells. Low-dose chemotherapy, often in combination with radiation therapy, chemotherapy may increase due to radiation. High doses of chemotherapy are used to control advanced cancer of the cervix, which may be curable. Some chemotherapy drugs can cause infertility and early menopause in premenopausal women.

Symptoms Of Cervical Cancer

You may not experience any symptoms of cervical cancer - early cervical cancer generally produces no signs or symptoms. As the cancer progresses, signs and symptoms of more advanced cancer of the cervix can occur:

Vaginal bleeding after intercourse, between periods or after menopause

Watery, bloody vaginal discharge, which can be heavy and have a bad odor

Pelvic pain or pain during intercourse

When to seek medical advice

Make an appointment with your doctor if you experience signs or symptoms that worry you.

Talk to your doctor when to begin screening for cervical cancer and how often to repeat the screening. Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends U.S. Congress that the girls have their first visit with an obstetrician-gynecologist or family doctor, aged between 13 and 15, or before sexual activity, sexual activity, and to discuss ways to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HPV.

Causes Of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer begins when normal cells acquire a genetic mutation that turns normal cells into abnormal cells. Healthy cells grow and multiply at a set rate, eventually dying at a time together. Cancer cells grow and multiply out of control and they do not die. The abnormal cells accumulate in the form of a mass (tumor). Cancer cells invade nearby tissues and can break out of a primary tumor to spread elsewhere in the body (metastasis).

What causes cervical cancer is unclear. However, the fact is that sexually transmitted infection called human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a role. HPV testing is found in almost all cervical cancers. However, HPV is a very common virus and most women with HPV do not develop cervical cancer. This means that other risk factors such as genetic inheritance, the environment or their lifestyle choices also determine whether to develop cervical cancer.

Types of Cervical Cancer

Cell, in which the original genetic mutation took place determines the type of cervical cancer you have. Type of cervical cancer is to help determine prognosis and treatment. Main types of cervical cancer are:

Squamous cell carcinoma. These begin in the thin, flat cells that line the bottom of the cervix (squamous cell). This type represents the vast majority of cervical cancers.

Adenocarcinomas. These occur in the glandular cells lining the cervical canal. These tumors represent a small fraction of cases of cervical cancer.

Sometimes both types of cells involved in cervical cancer. Very rare cancers can occur in other cells in the cervix.

Cervical Cancer Overview

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the cells of the cervix - the lower part of the uterus that connects the vagina. Different strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in the development of most cases of cervical cancer.

When exposed to HPV, a woman's immune system usually prevents the virus from doing harm. In a small group of women, however, virus survives for years to promote the process that causes some cells on the surface of the cervix to become cancerous cells.

The death rate from cervical cancer has been declining, partly due to detection. Doctors hope that a vaccine can prevent most cases of cervical cancer of the uterus in the future.