Cervical Cancer Treatment:
This cancer affects the entry point of your womb. The cervix is narrow part of lower uterus and this often referred to as the neck of the womb.
In this article about cervical cancer, we will learn about symptoms, stages, diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer.
What are the symptoms of Cervical Cancer?
In the early stages of this disease, a person may have no symptoms at all. Due to this women should undergo a regular checkup having cervical smear tests or Pap tests.
Pap test is preventive. The aim of this is not to detect cancer by to find out changes in the cell. If there are any changes, a person can go for further testing for confirming the diagnosis.
The Most Common Symptoms Of Cervical Cancer Are Mentioned Below;
- Bleeding between the periods
- Bleeding after having sexual intercourse
- Bleeding in women with post-menopause
- Discomfort having sexual intercourse
- Vaginal discharge with strong odor
- Pain the pelvic region
How to diagnose Cervical Cancer?
The early cervical cancer diagnosis helps in improving the success rate of medical treatment.
Following are some tests which are required for diagnosis of this disease:
Cervical Smear Test– This Screening does not confirm the cancer but this looks for abnormal changes in the cells of cervix. If treatment is not done, some abnormal cells can develop into cancer.
HPV DNA Testing- This determines whether the patient has any of type of HPV most likely to cause CA Cervix.
If PAP test reveals abnormal cells than your doctor may request for the following examinations:
Colposcopy: In this tests, a visual examination of vagina is done.
Biopsy: Your treating doctor may take a small section of the tissue under general anesthesia.
Cone biopsy: Your doctor in this case takes a small cone shape section from abnormal tissuefor examination.
LLETZ: Diathermy is done using a wire loop with electric current which helps in removing abnormal tissues.
Blood Tests: A full blood count with other blood tests.
CT Scan: The scan can be done to see cellular changes.
MRI: This can help identifying cervical cancer in early stage.
Pelvic Ultrasound (USG): This scan can help in showing the abnormal changes.
What are the Stages of Cervical Cancer?
The aim of the staging is to assess how far the cancerous cells have spread and whether they have reached nearby or distant organs.
4 Stage System Is The Most Common Way To Define The Stage Of Cervical Cancer;
Stage 0: Presence of precancerous cells.
Stage 1: The Cancer cells have grown from surface to deeper tissues of cervix.
Stage 2: The cancer has now moved beyond cervix & the uterus, but has not gone as far as the walls of pelvis or lower vaginal part. This may or may not lymph nodes that are nearby.
Stage 3: Cancerous cells are present in the lower vaginal part and it may be forming blockages in the patient’s ureters. This may or may not affect lymph nodes that are nearby.
Stage 4: In this stage the cancer affects bladder or rectum and it is growing out of the pelvis region. This may or may not have affected the lymph nodes but later in stage 4, it will spread to far away organs like liver, bones, lungs and the lymph nodes etc.
What is the Treatment for Cervical Cancer?
Cervical cancer treatment includes surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or may be combinations of all. This depends on various factors and the Team of doctors will decide the most suitable line of treatment considering the stage, your age and overall health.
