Cervical Cancer - Signs, Symptoms and Treatment

To understand cervical cancer, we first must know something about the cervix.  The cervix refers to the lowest part of a woman's uterus  The uterus is the organ where a mother's baby grows and develops during pregnancy.  During the nine months of pregnancy, the uterus grows larger.  The cervix connects the vagina with the uterus.

When cells in the woman's cervix grow out of control, and then invade tissues that are nearby--finally spreading throughout the body, cervical cancer develops.  A large collection of cells which grows abnormally is known as a tumor.  Some tumors are cancer and some are not.  The ones that are not cancer are the ones that cannot spread and thus threaten the person's life.  However, the tumors which spread through the body, invading  tissues nearby are cancer and are known as malignant tumors.

In most cases, cervical cancer is slow growing, although there are some times when it can spread rapidly.

The most common form of cervical cancer is known as squamous cell carcinoma.  This type comes from the cells which lie on the cervix surface; these cells are called squamous cells.  Squamous cell cervical cancer represents approximately 80 percent of all cases of cervical cancer.  The second most common type is adenocarcinoma.  This one comes from the cells making up gloads in the cervix.  For some unknown the reason, the incidence of adenocarcinomas cervical cancers has increased since the 1970s.  Also, three to five percent of cancers of the cervix have characteristics of both adenocarcinomas and squamous.   These are known as adenosquamous carcinomas.

Cervical cancer is found more often in developing nations as opposed to developed nations; there are relatively few cases in the United States.  It is, however, the twelfth most common cancer in women; it's also the 14th deadliest cancer among U.S. women.  This is far less than in developing nations, where it's the second deadliest cancer, with nearly 400,000 new cases diagnosed each year in those nations.

It's not exactly known what causes cervical cancer, but several risk factors are known.  For instance, infection with the HPV (human papillomavirus) is considered a risk factor.  HPV is a sexually transmitted virus which causes genital warts.  However, the presence of these warts does not indicate the presence of cervical cancer.

Since sexually transmitted diseases are risk factors for cervical cancer, risk factors for getting these STDs are likewise risk factors for cervical cancer. This includes having multiple sexual partners, having sex at an extremely early age, or having sex with a partner who has had a lot of sexual partners.

Studies seem to indicate that conditions which weaken a person's immunity increase their chance of getting cervical cancer. These include HIV, organ transplants, Hodgkin's disease, among others.  Also, smokers are more likely to develop the cancer, as are those in low economic groups.

There are several things women can do to fight the risk of death from cervical cancer.  The most important is to undergo Pap testing on a regular basis.  The dramatic decrease in instances of cervical cancer can be directly linked to the increased number of women undergoing a pap test and yearly screening.

Also, you should know that a vaccine known as Gardasil has been found effective against cancer of the cervix if it's given before a woman becomes exposed to HPV.  It's approved for females age 11 to 26 years old.

Some other things women can do to lower their risk of cervical cancer is to stay away from tobacco, limit the number of their sexual partners, and don't start having sex until fully mature.

There are several treatment options for those diagnosed with cervical cancer.  Sometimes a simple biopsy might take care of the situation, especially if she only has low-grade lesions.  A woman opting for this path should get frequent Pap tests and pelvic exams.

There are a few ways of getting rid of pre-cancer lesions without disturbing the complete uterus.  They could have cryosurgery )freezing the lesion until it comes off), a LEEP, which is an electrosurgical method used in biopsies, a conization, which is a thicker biopsy which gets tissue beneath the surface, or she may have the surgeons remove the cells with a laser.  Discuss the options available to you with your health professional.