Op.Dr.Çiğdem Karas Mavişehir Life Interview

Op.Dr.Çiğdem Karas Mavişehir Life Interview

1. Mrs. Çiğden, we would like to get to know you better. Can you briefly tell about yourself? How did you decide to choose this profession?
-First of all, I am a person who tries to be a good person, a good doctor, empathizes with her patient, and strives to raise women's awareness in my field. My childhood dream was to be a gynecologist, so I chose my branch when I was just 7 years old. Even then, I was very impressed by being instrumental in bringing a life to the world. I guess, my mother has a bit of a direction, of course, she always liked me as my doctor girl 
-I was born in Bursa in 1978, TC in 1993. I was selected as the Bursa Youth Representative on behalf of the Prime Ministry General Directorate of Youth and Sports, and swam in the Bursa Municipality Sports team as a licensed athlete for 6 years and won medals in various degrees.
I graduated from Ege University Faculty of Medicine in 2000, Ege University Faculty of Medicine; I continued my swimming career as a Swimming Team Captain.
- In 2005, I received the title of specialization in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dokuz Eylul University. I have been working as a Gynecology and Obstetrics Specialist since 2005.
I am married. I am a mother of 1 girl, 1 boy and 2 children. I try to make use of every opportunity I get, with my husband and children, as there is a very intense work pace brought by our profession. Since my husband is a motorcycle enthusiast, he instilled this pleasure in me, and exploring new places by motorcycle on weekends became our favorite. We try to get rid of tiredness by going abroad for small holidays and having good conversations with coffee in a nice cafe. And of course, sports are indispensable in our lives. Sports is a lifestyle, we have fun every now and then by adding dance to this style.

2. How does it make you feel to meet the mother and baby for the first time?

her birth; I see it as a journey in which a new individual joins the family and society and is a transitional phase for a woman to become a mother. The birth of the baby from the womb is also a journey. But what I want to tell here is exactly a woman's journey to become a mother. When the birth process (if there is no problem in this process) works as nature predicts for the woman, the motives and emotions required for motherhood begin by themselves. A great love develops between mother and baby at the end of this process. Thanks to this love, the hormones make the woman a mother. The maternal feelings necessary to nurture, protect and raise her baby begin. Thus, a healthy and correct attachment process is a starting point for raising strong, self-confident generations.

  3. We would like to get some information about cervical cancer, which is the fearful dream of women. Can you talk a little bit about 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.

4. 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.

 5. Is HPV virus contagious?

 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.

 6. How is the treatment of cervical cancer?

 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.