Cervical Cancer

Cervical Cancer - A General Overview

Cervical cancer is a form of cancer that grows in the cervix. The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the female uterus or womb.

The uterus, a pear shaped and hollow is epecially active during the women's child bearing years is this the organ where babies grows during the woman's pregnancy. Forming a kind of canal during a birth, the cervix opens into the vagina, or birth canal, which leads the unborn baby into the outside world.

Cervical cancer grows very slowly, and is deceptive because the symptoms of cervical cancer only begin to appear as the cancer begins to spread. Medical centers and health clinics encourage women who fall into the category of being potential cervical cancer sufferers are encouraged to take regular Pap tests. Pap tests are a procedure, where cells are scraped from the cervix. They are then sent for analysis to ascertain if there are any cancerous cells present.

The widespread use of Pap tests have gone a long way to arresting the number of cervical cancers sufferers in recent years.

Women who are at risk from cervical cancer are those who have given birth, and especially so, those who have had a lot of children. Smokers and women who used contraceptive pills for a long time are also in the high risk category. Lastly women who have suffered from some form of sexually transmitted disease and especially AIDS stand a very strong chance of contracting cervical cancer.

If the cervical cancer goes undetected long enough, the sufferer will begin to develop and display certain symptoms. The first and most common symptom is high levels of abnormal vaginal bleeding, during and out with the menstrual cycle.

If a women experiences constant bleeding from the vagina, she should report the problem to her family doctor or health center. The problem is that many women, especially those approaching the menopause, will tend to ignore vaginal bleeding, and falsely construe it as part of the change of life that she is going through. Women who continue bleeding after their menopause should also report for a Pap test. Pain or bleeding after sexual intercourse is another possible symptom that should be taken seriously.

Obviously the earlier the Pap test detects the cancer the better chance that the sufferer has of surviving the disease. The treating doctor will order a coloscopy to detect if there are cancerous cells in the cervix and if so, how far the cells have spread. Judging from his initial findings, the doctor may order a Luma Cervical imaging system scan. The LUMA shines a light into the cervix, and the system gauges the extent of damage to the cells to provide a more accurate diagnosis.

If the prognosis shows that cancerous cells exist the doctor will almost certainly recommend surgery. For example a cone biopsy. A cone biopsy describes the surgical procedure where a cone-shaped or cylinder-shaped piece of the cervix is removed. Other surgical procedures used in the treatment of cervical cancer are cryocautery, loop electroexcision (LEEP) or laser treatment.

As in most other instances of surgery to move cancerous cells and tumors, the patient will have to undergo a long and debilitating course of chemotherapy to ensure that all the cancer bearing cells in her body have been killed of.

Cancer