Cervical cancer is a type of cancer which affects the entrance to the womb. The cervix is the narrow part of the lower uterus, often referred to as the neck of the womb.
Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in causing most cervical cancer. For this reason, cervical cancer is sometimes referred to as a sexually transmitted cancer.
When exposed to HPV, a woman’s immune system typically prevents the virus from causing harm. In a small group of women, however, the virus survives for years, and can eventually cause some cells on the surface of the cervix to grow abnormally and become cancer cells.
Cervical cancer symptoms
In the early stages of cervical cancer, a person may experience no symptoms at all. As a result, women should have regular cervical smear tests.
The most common symptoms of cervical cancer are:
- bleeding between periods
- bleeding after sexual intercourse
- bleeding in post-menopausal women
- discomfort during sexual intercourse
- smelly vaginal discharge
- vaginal discharge tinged with blood
- pelvic pain
These symptoms can have other causes, including simple treatable infection. Anyone who experiences any of these symptoms should see a doctor.
Causes of cervical cancer
Cancer is the result of the uncontrolled division and growth of abnormal cells. Most of the cells in our body have a set lifespan and when they die, new cells are produced to replace them.
But sometimes abnormal cells occur and these cells keep on dividing and do not die.
- This results in an excessive accumulation of cells, which eventually forms a lump, otherwise known as a tumor. Even scientists can not completely sure why cells become cancerous.
- However, there are some risk factors that are known to increase the risk of developing cervical cancer. These risk factors include:
- HPV (human papillomavirus) – a sexually transmitted virus. There are more than 100 different types of HPVs, at least 13 of which can cause cervical cancer.
- Many sexual partners or becoming sexually active early – cervical cancer-causing HPV types are nearly always transmitted as a result of sexual contact with an infected individual. Women who have had many sexual partners generally have a higher risk of becoming infected with HPV, which raises their risk of developing cervical cancer.
- Smoking – increases the risk of developing many cancers, including cervical cancer.
- A weakened immune system – such as in people with AIDS, or transplant recipients taking immunosuppressive medications. This is because their body’s ability to fight infection is generally lower.
- Long-term mental stress – women who experience high levels of stress over a sustained period may be less able to fight off HPV as stress can also lead to lower immunity.
- Giving birth at a very young age – women who give birth before the age of 17 are significantly more likely to develop cervical cancer compared with women who have their first baby after the age of 25.
- Several pregnancies – women who have had at least three children in separate pregnancies are more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to women who have never had children.
- Contraceptive pill – long-term use of some common contraceptive pills slightly raises a woman’s risk.
- Other sexually transmitted diseases (STD) – women who become infected with chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer.
- Socio-economic status – studies in several countries have revealed that women in deprived areas have significantly higher rates of cervical cancer.
Now these risk factors sound a little alarming. But they are just factors that have been commonly found in women with cervical cancer. Apart from HPV, the others can not be classified as clearly leading to cervical cancer, so don’t throw away your contraceptives or decide not to have children.
The best way to prevent cervical cancer is regular screening by pap smear. Starting from when you become sexually active, every woman should make it a duty to get a pap smear done every 3 years.
The United Kingdom’s NHS (National Health Service) started a Cervical Screening Program in 1988, and since then the rate of women diagnosed with cervical cancer in the U.K. has halved from 16 per 100,000 in 1988 to 8 per 100,000 presently. This is enough evidence to show how important it is to have regular pap smear tests.
