Cervical Cancer

Uterine cancer - s The uterine cancer cervix is the lowest portion of a woman's uterus. Most of the uterus lies in the pelvis, but part of the cervix is there in the vagina, where it connects the uterus with the vagina.

Cancer of the cervix happens when the cells of the cervix change in a way that leads to abnormal growth and invasion of other tissues or organs of the body.

Like other cancers, cancer of the cervix is likely to be cured with effect if it is detected early and treated immediately.

It is a type of invasive cancer. Invasive cancer means that the cancer affects the deeper tissues of the cervix and may spread to other parts of the body.

This spread process is called metastasis. Cervical cancers don't always spread, but those that do most often spread to the lungs, the liver, the bladder, the vagina, and the rectum.
Cervical Cancer Symptoms
You may have no signs or symptoms of cervical cancer until it has progressed to a dangerous stage.

* Cervical cancer does not generally cause pain, although it may in very advanced stages.
* The most common symptom is abnormal vaginal bleeding. This is any bleeding from the vagina other than during menstruation.
* Abnormal vaginal discharge may occur with cervical cancer.

Cervical Cancer Causes

Cervical cancer starts with abnormal changes in the cervical tissue. The risk of developing these abnormal changes has been related with certain factors

including previous infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), early sexual contact, multiple sexual partners, cigarette smoking, and taking oral contraceptives (birth control pills).

* Genetic material that comes from certain forms of HPV has been found in cervical tissues that show cancerous changes.
* Women who have been diagnosed with HPV are more likely to develop a cervical cancer that has genetic material matching the strain of virus that caused the infection.
* Because HPV can be transmitted by sexual contact, early sexual contact and having multiple sexual partners have been identified as major risk factors for the development of cervical lesions responsible for cancer.
* Cigarette smoking is another risk factor for the development of cervical cancer.
* Oral contraceptives ("the pill") may increase the risk for cervical cancer, especially in women who have been using these pills for more than 5 years.

Cervical Cancer Treatment
Treatment of cervical cancer is aimed at preventing precancerous cells from becoming cancerous cells. This is usually a step-by-step process, involving the removal of cells or tissue to diagnose cancer and to find out how far it has invaded. If the deepest cells removed by biopsy were normal, no further treatment may be required. If the deepest cells removed by biopsy were cancerous, it means that the cancer has invaded farther than the biopsy. In such cases, treatment starts with removal of additional tissues. As these tissues are removed, they are checked for dysplastic change to be sure all the precancerous or cancerous cells have been removed from the body or are otherwise destroyed.