Wednesday, March 24, 2010

What to Know About Cervical Cancer



Around the globe, one woman dies of cervical cancer every 2 minutes and some 500 thousand new cases of this disease are seen every year.
In the Philippines, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer as the most common illness that threatens and kills women.
Cervical cancer is a cancer that forms in tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina). It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests.
In recent studies, there had been overwhelming evidence that an infectious agent particularly human papiloma virus (HPV) that is transmitted through sexual intercourse causes cancer of the cervix.
There are a few established possible causes of cervix cancer. Among the few are if the person have had multiple sexual partners, have had sexual partners (regular or casual) who themselves had several sexual partners, have had sexual partner who is infected with human papilloma virus and had first sexual intercourse at a very early age, possibly 15 or 16.
Cervical cancer does not have symptoms. Often, the disease is detected during its advance stage. However, unusual bleeding from the vagina at any time and unpleasant vaginal discharge are the impressions that often lead to cervix cancer.
Since there is almost universal acceptance that cervical cancer is primarily transmitted through sexual intercourse, a one-partner sexual relationship between partners should be observed, a delay on the first sexual intercourse and use of barrier contraceptives during sexual intercourse is recommended.
Cervical cancer is not a disease of old age. The big majority of its victims are women who are at the peak of their biologically and economically productive ages. When a woman dies of this cancer, life is not just simply lost. Rather, a husband loses a wife, the children lose a mother and the family is psychologically, financially and socially destabilized. Also, the country loses more than a pair of productive hands.
Early detection and treatment are the keys to prevent cervical cancer. Also, abstaining from more and more sexual intercourse with different partners can help in eradicating the dilemma of this deadly illness. So, as soon and as early as now, have your Pap smear test and check-up to be much aware of the cancer that killed many lives and is still putting many Filipino women’s lives at risk.

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