Cervical Cancer
What is the cervix?
The cervix is the name given to the lowest part of the uterus. The uterus is an organ that only women have, and is where babies grow and develop when a woman is pregnant. During pregnancy, the uterus grows enormously. When a woman is not pregnant, the uterus is an organ small, pear-shaped which lies between the rectum and bladder of women. The cervix connects the uterus to the birth canal (vagina). The cervix can be visualized and examined by his doctor during a routine pelvic examination.
What is cancer of the cervix?
Cervical cancer develops when cells in the cervix begin to grow uncontrollably and can then invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. Large collections of cells that grow abnormally are called tumors. Some tumors are not really cancer because they can not spread or threaten the lives of people. These are called benign tumors. The tumors that can spread through the body or invade nearby tissues are considered cancer and are called malignant tumors. Usually the cancer of the cervix is very slow-growing but in some circumstances it can grow and spread quickly.
Cancers are characterized by cells from which they originate. The rate of cervical cancer most common is called squamous cell carcinoma. This type of cancer begins in cells that are found on the surface of the cervix, called squamous cells. The squamous cell cervical cancer constitutes about 80% of all cervical cancers. The second most common form is adenocarcinoma, which originates from the cells that form glands in the cervix. The percentage of cervical cancers are adenocarcinomas has risen since the 1970s, although nobody knows exactly why. About 3% to 5% of cervical cancers have features of both squamous and adenocarcinomas and are called adenosquamous carcinomas. There are other rare types such as carcinoma and small cell neuroendocrine are so infrequent that they will not be discussed in this article.
Am I at risk of developing cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer is more common in developing countries means that in developed countries, and is relatively rare in the United States. In the United States is expected that by the year 2002, 13,000 women develop cervical cancer and 4,100 women die of cervical cancer. This places the cervical cancer as the 12th most common cancer in women, and the 14th most common cause of death in women in the United States. However, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer causing death in countries where development path, with about 370,000 new cases annually and a 50% mortality rate. There has been a decrease in incidence and mortality of cervical cancer of 75% in the last 50 years. Most of this decrease is attributed to the institutionalization of effective screening programs in developed countries.
Although several risk factors associated with cervical cancer, no one knows exactly why it takes a woman and another woman. One of the most important risk factors for cervical cancer is infection with a virus called HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease is common in the population, many men and women attending college age have been exposed to HPV. HPV is the virus that causes genital warts, but having genital warts does not necessarily mean you will get cervical cancer. There are different subtypes or strains of HPV. Only certain subtypes cause cancer, and subtypes that cause warts are unlikely to cause cancer. Frequently, the HPV infection causes no symptoms until the woman develops a pre-cancerous lesion on the cervix. It should be emphasized that only a small percentage of women who have HPV will develop cervical cancer, so simply having HPV does not mean you will get sick. However, nearly all cervical cancers show evidence of HPV, therefore, infection is a major risk factor for developing cancer of the cervix.
Because infection with a sexually transmitted disease is a risk factor for cervical cancer, any risk factors for developing sexually transmitted diseases are also risk factors for developing cervical cancer. Women who have had multiple male sexual partners, began having sex early, or have had male sexual partners at high risk (or who have had many sexual partners and / or began sexual relations at an early age) are at risk highest cervical cancer. Also, get any sexually transmitted disease (such as herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, or chlamydia) increase the risk of a woman. The HIV infection is another risk factor for cervical cancer, but may be different for another reason. It seems that any condition that weakens the immune system also increases the risk of developing cervical cancer. The conditions that weaken their immune system include HIV, have had an organ transplant, and Hodgkin’s disease. Another important risk factor for developing cervical cancer is smoking. Smokers are at least two times the risk of developing cervical cancer than nonsmokers. Smoking can also increase the importance of other risk factors for cancer. Finally, being from a low socioeconomic group seems to increase the possibility of developing and dying of cervical cancer. This can be caused by high rates of smoking, or soon because there may be other barriers to having a yearly screening. Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that affects young women (in the 20s or even in adolescence), therefore, any woman who is sexually active is too young to start checkups for early detection. Additionally, the risk of cervical cancer never decreases, so nobody is too old to continue with the check. Remember that all risk factors are based on probabilities, and even someone with no risk factors can develop cervical cancer. An adequate screening for early detection is the best weapon to reduce the mortality associated with this disease.
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Many thanks for posting all this information online.