What are the Harmful Effects of Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer is a disease where the cells of the cervix grow too rapidly. The cervix is the area of a woman's body between the uterus and the vaginal canal. Cervical cancer is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, with 50 percent of sexually active people becoming infected with the virus at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Significance

• In the United States, cervical cancer occurs mostly in women 30 and older. According to the CDC, 12,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2005, which is the most recent year data is available for; almost 4,000 women died from cervical cancer in the same year. When found early enough cervical cancer is treatable.

Prevention

• HPV is transmitted by skin to skin contact, generally through sexual activity so the only way to completely prevent getting HPV is to abstain from all sexual activity, including genital touching. If you are sexually active, using latex or polyurethane condoms every time you have sex will reduce but not eliminate your risk. A vaccine is also available for women and girls 11-26 that prevents two strains of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.

Pap Tests

• Women should get pap tests as part of their regular gynecological care. A pap test checks the cervix for changes in cells. If you have cervical cell changes your doctor will give you a colposcopy which looks closer at the cervix and may include a biopsy of the cervical cells. If the biopsy results show pre-cancerous cells, treatment will be used to remove the cells. This reduces the likelihood that the cells will develop into cancer. According to the CDC, six out of 10 cervical cancer cases are in women who have never received a Pap test or have not been tested in the past five years.

Symptoms

• Cervical cancer often has no initial symptoms. If the cancer is left untreated and is able to spread to other areas of the body, symptoms may begin to appear that can include vaginal discharge, spotting between periods, bleeding after menopause, pain and bleeding during intercourse, pelvic, leg or back pain, urinary problems, rectal bleeding or blood in the urine and unexplained weight loss.

Treatment and Effects

• Treatment for cervical cancer is similar to treatment for other cancers. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. If you are in an earlier stage of the cancer, less invasive options may be used to protect fertility; more aggressive treatments may cause infertility due to harm of the nearby reproductive organs.