January - Cervical Cancer Awarness Month

As the month of January brings cervical cancer into focus, it’s time to increase public understanding of the disease, including its prevalence, approaches to screening, prevention and treatment options.


Cervical cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting women, but in the same time, is the only gynecological cancer for which there is a screening test available.  Screening can help find this cancer early, when treatment can be most effective.

Cervical Cancer affects a lot of women every year and still kills a lot of them, as you can see in the diagram of the World Health Organization from 2008.





But what is Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer is defined as cancer that starts in the cervix or lower part of the uterus - the cervix is the part of the body that connects the uterus (or womb) to the vagina (or birth canal).

Cervical cancer occurs when abnormal cells on the cervix grow out of control, can often be successfully treated when it's found early and  is usually found at a very early stage through a Pap test.



What causes cervical cancer?

Most cervical cancer is caused by a virus called Human Papillomavirus  or HPV. You can get HPV by having sexual contact with someone who has it. There are many types of the HPV virus but not all types of HPV cause cervical cancer. Some of them cause genital warts, but other types may not cause any symptoms.

You can have HPV for years and not know it. It stays in your body and can lead to cervical cancer years after you were infected. This is why it is important for you to have regular Pap tests. A Pap test can find changes in cervical cells before they turn into cancer. If you treat these cell changes, you may prevent cervical cancer.

Besides the Human Papillomavirus infection (HPV), there are also other several risk factors that can increase your chances of developing this type of cancer:  

*   Smoking          
*   Diet          
*   Family history          
*   Taking birth control pills over a long period of time          
*   Immunosuppression (HIV or AIDS)          
*   Chlamydia infection          
*   Having had three or more full-term pregnancies          


What are the symptoms?

Abnormal cervical cell changes rarely cause symptoms. But you may have symptoms if those cell changes grow into cervical cancer. Symptoms of cervical cancer may include:

*    Bleeding from the vagina that is not normal or a change in your menstrual cycle that you can't explain.         
*    Bleeding when something comes in contact with your cervix, such as during sex or when you put in a diaphragm.        
*    Pain during sex.        
*    Vaginal discharge that is tinged with blood.



How is cervical cancer diagnosed?

As part of your regular pelvic exam, you should have a Pap test. During a Pap test, the doctor scrapes a small sample of cells from the surface of the cervix to look for cell changes. If a Pap test shows abnormal cell changes, your doctor may do other tests to look for precancerous or cancer cells on your cervix.

Your doctor may also do a Pap test and take a sample of tissue (biopsy) if you have symptoms of cervical cancer, such as bleeding after sex.



How is it treated?

The treatment for most stages of cervical cancer includes:

*    Surgery, such as a hysterectomy and removal of pelvic lymph nodes with or without removal of both ovaries and Fallopian tubes.          
*    Chemotherapy.          
*    Radiation therapy.

Depending on how much the cancer has grown, you may have one or more treatments. And you may have a combination of treatments. If you have a hysterectomy, you won't be able to have children. But a hysterectomy isn't always needed, especially when cancer is found very early.



Can cervical cancer be prevented?

The Pap test is the best way to find cervical cell changes that can lead to cervical cancer. Regular Pap tests almost always show these cell changes before they turn into cancer. It's important to follow up with your doctor after any abnormal Pap test result so you can treat abnormal cell changes. This may help prevent cervical cancer.

If you are age 26 or younger, you can get the HPV vaccine, which protects against two types of HPV that cause cervical cancer (even though my doctor which is also one of the researchers that launched Gardasil, at the European Cancer Conference in Paris, France told me the vaccine can be done at any age, as long as the patient is in good health – the vaccine was only tested on women under the age of 27. It was believed that women 27 and older were so likely to already have HPV, so cutting off at 26 meant they had a higher proportion of HPV-free patients. There's no reason to believe that it won't work on women in their late 20's or 30’s, 40’s or that it is unsafe. But this hasn't been verified through clinical trials; therefore you should talk to your doctor about this).
                                                                          
                                                                               *****

It's common to feel scared, sad, or angry after finding out that you have cervical cancer. Talking to others who have had the disease may help you feel better. Ask your doctor about support groups in your area. You can also find people online who will share their experiences with you.