Cervical Cancer

Cervical Cancer and Cervical Cancer Screening

The cervix is the lower part of the uterus or the womb. An embryo develops into a full baby inside the uterus during pregnancy. The cervix connects the body of the uterus to the vagina. The endocervix is the part of the cervix closest to the body of the uterus. The position next to the vagina is the ectocervix. The place where these two parts meet is called the ‘Transformation zone’. It is the epicentre of cervical cancer.

Everything You Need to Know About Cervical Cancer

What is cervical cancer | Screening Information | Benefits | Risk Factors | Stages | Treatment

What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer is increasingly becoming one of the common cancer types these days. It happens once the cervical cells start damaging. Cervix connects a woman’s vagina to the uterus. This type of cancer can be dangerous since it further affects the deeper tissues of the cervix and spreads to other body parts. With time, it damages the lungs, bladder, liver, vagina, and rectum. However, the best part is that cervical cancer is the most easily preventable cancer as it has a long precancerous phase when it can be easily detected and cured. Detection is done by a simple test and there is a vaccine available for its prevention.

There’s more than one kind of cervical cancer. They are-

• Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of cervical cancer found in 90% of the cases. This forms in the lining or skin of the cervix.
• Adenocarcinoma- This is the second kind of cervical cancer that forms in the mucus-producing cells.

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Sub Treatments For Cancer Screening

Screening Information on Cervical Cancer

♦ What are cervical cancer screening tools?

The most important advancement in cervical cancer screening is the Papanicolaou test’s commonly known as Pap smear and high-risk HPV testing. There are two types of Pap smears Conventional and Liquid Based Cytology (LBC). Since LBC has better accuracy and detection rate here at Gunjan IVF World we promote doing LBC.

♦ Who should undergo Cervical Cancer Screening?

All women between the age of 25 years to 65 years should undergo screening for Cervical Cancer.

♦ How Frequently should screening be done?

As per FOGSI guidelines, those undergoing CoTesting with pap smear and HPV should be screened at least once every 5 years and those undergoing only Pap smear should be screened at least once every 3 years.

♦ How is a Pap Smear done? Is it painful?

Pap smear is part of a woman’s regular pelvic exam. It is not a painful procedure. During a pap smear, the doctor collects cells from the surface of your cervix. The doctor collects liquid discharge on the surface of the cervix by means of a fine brush. Then these cells are tested under a microscope to find out about their condition. If they spot anything unusual, the doctor will examine cervical tissues in a biopsy procedure.

Another way to detect cervical cancer and more importantly Precancer conditions of the cervix is by Colposcopy. Here, the doctor analyzes the cervix to spot unusual cell growth or unhealthy area of the cervix. In this process, doctors apply a harmless dye that helps in giving a clear demarcated view. Afterwards, a colposcope is used, which magnifies the cervix by eight to 15 times to look for an unusual area of the cervix for biopsy.

♦ What to do in case of Abnormal Pap Smear?

Women whose initial Pap test result is abnormal may be asked to undergo a repeat test or have a Colposcopy. After colposcopy, the doctor may do a biopsy of the cervix. If the biopsy shows cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, the doctor treats the cervix by excising the transformation zone using various methods. These procedures cause short-term pain, bleeding and discharge, and generally have no major long term side effects. The advantage of cervical cancer is that less than one-third of even high-grade abnormalities progress to cancer.

Recommendations are presented for the use of Pap tests for women with no cervical cancer symptoms, who are or who have been sexually active, regardless of sexual orientation. Recommendations are for screening all women from 25 to 65 years of age.

Benefits of Cervical Cancer Screening

• Having a Pap test reassures you if the result is normal.
• Regular Pap tests may help prevent cervical cancer by finding cervical cell changes in your body that would become cancer if left untreated. That is one can detect and treat before CANCER develops.
• A Pap test helps find cervical cancer early before you have symptoms.
• A Pap test helps find cervical cancer before it spreads when it is easier to treat and it is at a curable stage.
• Early detection may mean less treatment and less time spent recovering.
• Therefore, the early detection of the chance cervical cancer increases the survival rate.

Risk factors of Cervical cancer

Several risk factors can increase your chance of developing cervical cancer. The risk factors can increase the odds of developing cervical cancer. Women without any of these risk factors have a lesser chance to develop cervical cancer. However, many women with the risks do not develop this disease.

When you think about risk factors, it helps to focus on those activities that you can change to preventing this disease. For example, smoking or drinking can increase the chances of cervical cancer. Moreover, having a family history or genetics can cause it too. However, it is still essential to know about risk factors that cannot be changed because it’s even more important for women who have these factors to get regular screening tests to detect cervical cancer early.

Stages of cervical cancer

• Stage I: Abnormal cells are developed in the innermost lining of the cervix. Invasive carcinoma that is strictly confined to the cervix.
• Stage II: Loco-regional spread of cancer beyond the uterus but not to the pelvic sidewall or the lower third of the vagina.
• Stage III: It spreads to the pelvic sidewall or the lower third of the vagina, hydronephrosis or a non-functioning kidney that is incident to invasion of the ureter.
• Stage IV: Cancer spreads beyond the true pelvis or into the mucosa of the bladder or rectum.

Treatment options for cervical cancer

The stage of cervical cancer is the most important factor in choosing treatment. However, other factors can also affect your treatment options. It includes the exact location of cancer within the cervix, the type of cancer (squamous cell or adenocarcinoma), your age and overall health, and whether you want to have children.

If cancer has recurred in the center of the pelvis only, extensive surgery may be an option for some patients. It offers the best chance to cure cancer (although it can have major side effects). Radiation therapy (sometimes along with chemo) might be another option. Doctors use chemo, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy to slow cancer growth or help relieve symptoms. However, they cannot cure cancer.

Surgery is yet another one of the effective treatments when it comes to an early stage of cervical cancer. But, the surgery depends on the size of cancer and how much it has spread.

Therefore, these are some of the important things to know about cervical cancer. Any form of cancer can be dangerous. However, with proper care, cancer is easy to prevent.

Our Expert Team

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