Cervical Cancer

The Cervix is located at the entrance to the Vagina from the womb. It is crucial during the birth of a baby; it delivers menstrual fluid from the uterus and is the passage to the uterus for sperm.

What Causes Cervical Cancer?

Cervical Cancer usually occurs from the HPV virus. However, it’s not the HPV infection itself that puts woman at the greatest risk of cervical cancer. It is not diagnosing cervical cancer and leaving it untreated that is the true killer. If HPV does not heal naturally and is left untreated, it may result in irregular cells which lead to cervical cancer.

HPV is actually so common amongst sexually active females that presence of the virus does not signal instant need for concern. It is however the reason why it’s so important for woman to have the pap smear test so that the presence of the HPV virus and cell irregularity can be established.

There are no symptoms that woman will exhibit or feel as a result of irregular cells, it simply must be tested for.

Diagnosis

There is a great push in Australia for woman to have regular pap smear tests. The idea of a pap smear test is intimidating to some woman but it’s a simple and quick test that could save your life. The results of a pap smear test help a doctor determine the presence of abnormal cells, the severity of the abnormalities and what further tests or treatments are required to minimize the chance of cervical cancer.

There are a few tests that can be carried out to determine whether cervical cancer is present.

• Colpsocopy – uses a magnifying glass of sorts to examine the vaginal area
• Biopsy - A very small tissue sample is removed during the colposcoy for analysis.
• Cone Biopsy – Large tissue samples are taken from the cervix. This requires anesthetic.

Who is at Risk of Cervical Cancer?

Any female who is sexually active is at risk of Cervical Cancer; however certain factors increase the risk such as

• Having more sexual partners
• If the people that a woman has slept with have more sexual partners
• There are many types of the HPV virus, some types are far more likely to result in cervical cancer then others
• Unprotected sex
• Ages 40 years and over
• Not being checked regularly with a pap smear test
• Tobacco smoking
• Sexually active at a young age

Cervical Cancer Treatment

Treatments used for cervix cancer depend on the severity of the condition. If cervical cancer symptoms are detected early during a biopsy, it may be removed with a cone biopsy (i.e. removing the affected tissue).

The other 3 methods of cervical cancer treatment are not as quick and easy

• A hysterectomy involves removal of the uterus
• Radiotherapy utilizes X-Rays to attack and destroy cancerous cells
• Cervical Cancer Chemotherapy – the well known drug therapy to inhibit cancer cell reproduction

Immunisation

Any girl in school can be immunized for free from the HPV virus, at the age of 12 up to the age of 26. A cervical cancer injection however does not guarantee that a woman will not contract cervical cancer and periodic pap smear tests throughout life are still of great importance to all woman.

Some Cervical Cancer Statistics

• 735 woman are diagnosed with cervical cancer in Australia every year
• A large percentage of women who have cervical cancer did not have regular check ups or pap smear tests
• Pap smear tests avoid cervix cancer in more then 1200 Australian woman each year
• 1 in 150 woman develop cervix cancer making it the 14th most common cancer amongst woman