Cervical cancer

Dr Nalini Kilara | 01-April-2014

Dr Nalini Kilara
Head of Dept of
Medical Oncology,
MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital

A friend of mine died recently of cervical cancer, putting all of us in deep grief. She was a lovely, very active woman over 50, but never looked her age. Her sudden death had scared us all. Could you please explain why this disease happens, the symptoms and the risk factors as it would help so many women like me to know about different aspects of the disease?

                                                                     Rita Jacob, Bangalore 

Cervical cancer kills more women in India than anywhere in the world. Experts say it is a disease that can largely be prevented and it is the first cancer in the world to have two vaccines aimed at preventing it.With nearly 73,000 women dying every year, India now tops cervical cancer deaths and India represents 26.4% of all women dying of cervical cancer globally.

It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms.

Several risk factors increase the chances of getting cervical cancer. They include: 

Smoking can increase the risk of cervical cancer.    HPV can be spread through unprotected sex, so using a condom can help reduce the risk of developing the infection.

If a woman’s mother or sister had cervical cancer, her chances of developing the disease are 2 to 3 times higher than others. 

Symptoms

Cervical cancer may not cause any symptoms at first but one of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding. In some cases, there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer has progressed to an advanced stage. Later, there would be pelvic pain or bleeding from the vagina. Other symptoms are bleeding that occurs between regular menstrual periods, after sexual intercourse, douching, or a pelvic exam, and menstrual periods that last longer and are heavier than before.

Diagnosis

There are different tests to diagnose cervical cancer which include:

Cervical exam: The doctor uses a colposcope to look at the cervix. Smear tests: The doctor or nurse scrapes a sample of cells from the cervix. .

Tissue sample: The removal of tissue to look for cancer cells is a biopsy.

If abnormal cervical cell changes are found early, cancer can be prevented by removing or killing the changed cells before they become cancer cells.Treatment usually consists of surgery (including local excision) in early stages, and radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy in more advanced stages of the disease.

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