Cervical Cancer and Its Symptoms!

Cervical Cancer and Its Symptoms!

Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in developing and underdeveloped countries. Every year, 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in the world. Cervical cancer, which usually occurs around the age of 50, has also started to be seen in young women in recent years. Although breast cancer ranks first among the most common cancers in women, cervical cancer is ahead of breast cancer due to its life-threatening feature.

The HPV (“Human Papilloma Viruses”) virus, which is responsible for almost all cervical cancers, does not show many symptoms and is highly contagious. Most women defeat the HPV virus they encounter at some point in their life with the help of their own body defense system. Some HPV viruses come out of this defense system strong and cause cervical cancer.

What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?
Symptoms of cervical cancer may not manifest itself in the early stages. The problem in the cervix may not be seen with the naked eye or in the gynecological examination. Changes can be noticed with vaginal discharge called a smear test or with instruments that enlarge the cervix called "colposcope", and the definitive diagnosis can be made with a biopsy taken from the suspicious area.

Symptoms of cervical cancer occur more often in the advanced stages of the disease. Symptoms such as bloody discharge, bleeding after sexual intercourse and irregular menstrual bleeding are among the symptoms of cervical cancer. In advanced cases, the tumor can be noticed even during examination. As cervical cancer progresses, urinary problems, defecation difficulties and leg pains occur.

One of the symptoms of cervical cancer, bleeding that occurs unexpectedly immediately after sexual intercourse or the next day is called “post-coital bleeding”. Postcoital bleeding is an important finding and may be an early sign of cervical cancer.

How is the HPV virus transmitted?
While female cancers are becoming more and more common today, one of the biggest factors is the HPV virus. The HPV virus (human papilloma virus), which many of us have not even heard of, but which is found in millions of people both in the world and in our country, is becoming more common every year. While there are more than 200 types of HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection, millions of people around the world still carry the HPV virus, most of them in their late teens and early 20s.

How is cervical cancer treated?
Genital warts caused by HPV virus infection can be treated by burning, freezing, surgery or with the help of local creams. The disappearance of the wart as a result of this treatment does not mean that it will not appear again. In some people, the wart does not recur after treatment; In some, wart formation can be observed at frequent intervals. The treatment should be repeated in each new wart formation. The risk of recurrence of genital warts is related to how strong the immune system is. It is known that in HPV virus infections, without treatment, the person can spontaneously remove the virus from his body.

Cervical cancer treatment is carried out with 4 different methods. These are surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy. If the virus has not penetrated into the depth of the tissue, the area in the cervix can be determined by colposcopy. With the surgical removal of the area, the area that may become cancerous is eliminated, and a high rate of recovery is achieved in the patient. With a simple surgical procedure, the patient can be discharged on the same day. If the cancer has become invasive, that is, it has penetrated deep into the tissue, there are two treatment options. In this case, "radical hysterectomy", which is an extensive and difficult operation that will take a long time, is performed. At the same time, because cancer cells occupy the lymph nodes in the pelvic area, they are also removed. The alternative is chemo-radiotherapy; The cancer cells in that area are sensitized to the light with chemotherapy drug, then radiotherapy is applied to the patient and the follow-up is continued. If it is in the late stage, survival rates are at a certain rate, regardless of surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

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