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Facts about cervical cancer.

fact 1. Cervical cancer is a cancer of the cervix.

fact 2. The cervix is the most important organ in the reproductive system.

fact 3. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the main cause of the disease.

fact 4. The main way to contract the human papilloma virus is through sexual intercourse.

fact 5. Multiple sexual partners increase the risk of contracting HPV. Early sexual activity can also be a problem, due to the none-mature cell's increased ability to take on cancer cell growth.

fact 6. Cervical cancer is almost impossible to detect by oneself.

fact 7. Cervical cancer is a treatable survivable disease, especially with early detection.

fact 8. World wide, cervical cancer is the second most widely diagnosed cancer in women.

fact 9. In America,it is estimated that 12 thousand new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed each year.

fact 10. We still lose between four and five thousand women a year to full stage cervical cancer.

fact 11. Most of the women who lose their lives due to cervical cancer NEVER had a pap smear.

fact 12. Anemia is frequently associated with cervical cancer, also, weight loss, fatigue, leg and severe lower back pain and the loss of regular appetite.

other symptoms to look for are

1. vaginal bleeding after intercourse
2. unusual vaginal discharge
3. pain during sexual intercourse
4. pelvic pain
5. heavy bleeding between menstrual cycle
6. increased urinary frequency

fact 13. Regular check-ups and clean habits are the simplest approach to preventing cervical cancer.

fact 14. The surest way to stay on top of this cancer is through a pap smear, performed quite painlessly by your gynecologist.

fact 15. Most pap smear test results come back with a class 1 rating. There are, however, 5 class ratings and in degree's of severity here is a breakdown.

class 1. normal
class 2. inflammation or irritation.
class 3. cervical dysphasia, this can range from mild to serious.
class 4. is one of a variety of cancers or pre-cancers.
class 5. is one of full on serious invasive cervical cancer signs.

fact 16. If your pap test comes back class 3 or above you will need to get an immediate second opinion from a different laboratory with a second opinion from another doctor. If that test comes back with signs of dysphasia, an outpatient procedure known as a cone biopsy is the next step to rule out cervical cancer.

fact 17. If cervical cancer is detected, do not prolong treatment. If left unchecked the disease can spread to the vagina and surrounding tissue.

fact 18. This disease can potentially damage the bodies reproductive organs and diminish the capacity for women to have children.

fact 19. The infected cancer cells can be surgically removed.

fact 20. A combination of chemotherapy and radiation (chemo-radiation) is very effective in the treatment of cervical cancer.

As of this writing ,June of 2006 there has been a shot developed and approved by the FDA to combat cervical cancer head on.

fact 21. This cervical cancer shot claims it has the potential to all but eradicate cervical cancer in our lifetime. It is a vaccination for the human papilloma virus (HPV).

fact 22. It might be a hard pill to swallow for some parents to take their adolescent girl (8 to 13 yr. old) in for a vaccination against a sexually transmitted disease. Some parents believe this will give the child a green-light to start having under-age sex.

fact 22. The HPV vaccine may be used on adolescent boys too!, before they become sexually active.

fact 23. If the HPV vaccine is to gain wide spread acceptance it will need to be promoted as a cancer prevention vaccine instead of a vaccine for sexually transmitted diseases.

fact 24. Some experts who are fighting this disease are hopeful that the HPV vaccine be included with other adolescent shots such as the meningitis vaccine, only time will tell.

fact 25. Early detection makes this a very treatable disease.

PLEASE GET REGULAR CHECK-UPS

(c) copyright 2006 Darren crumbleholme