DID YOU KNOW?
  • Cervical cancer is the leading form of cancer that kills women in India. The latest study published in the Lancet reveals that 33,400 women died of cervical cancer in 2010, which represents 17.1% of the total cancer deaths in women the same year.
  • Women who died of the disease were aged between 39 and 60.
  • In 2010, cervical cancer was the leading fatal cancer in both rural and urban areas. Rural areas were marginally ahead in the fatality rate.
  • 16 women out of a population of 1,00,000 women are likely to die of cervical cancer.
  • In India, 90,708 new cervical cancer cases were registered in 2007 under population based cancer registry conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research under the National Cancer Registry Programme.
  • According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer of the cervix is the second most common cancer in women the world over, with 5,00,000 new cases and 2,50,000 deaths each year.
  • Most cervical cancer develop in the squamous cells on the surface of the cervix.
  • WHO reports that 99% of all squamous-cell cervical cancers are linked to genital infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). It is one of the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) apart from being the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract.
Usually there are no symptoms in the initial stages of the cancer. However the symptoms that may develop, as the disease progresses, include abnormal vaginal bleedings between menstrual cycles, after intercourse, or after menopause. There may also be continuous vaginal discharge while periods may become heavier and last longer than usual. Cervical cancer can also spread to other parts of the body; organs that maybe affected include bladder, intestines, lungs and liver. The symptoms of the disease appear at an advanced stage when the same has spread. Some of the symptoms of cervical cancer include back pain, bone pain or fractures, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, leg pain, single swollen leg, pelvic pain and in very rare cases leakage of urine or faeces from the vagina.

HOW CAN I PREVENT CERVICAL CANCER ? As mentioned earlier, of all the types of cervical cancer is the most preventable and treatable form of cancer. The most effective ways of preventing the onset of the cancerous growth in the cervix uteri include vaccination, practice of safe sex, preventive screening and diet modification.

Gardasil and Cervarix are the two prescribed HPV vaccines that reduce the risk of cancerous or precancerous changes of the cervix and perineum by 93%. The vaccines are usually given to women between the ages 9 and 26 as they are effective only if given before the HPV infection. The practice of safe sex using condoms has also been considered a highly effective method of reducing the risk of HPV infection (which usually leads to cervical cancer) and other sexually transmitted diseases. A further reduction of risk is possible through a modification of sexual behaviour if women limit their sexual partners and avoid those who engage in high risk sexual activities. Quitting smoking and inclusion of vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene in the diet are some of the life-style changes that can prevent and protect one form cervical cancer.

However, the most important form of preventive measure can be the screening tests which help the detection of the disease at an early stage. Preventive screening can even detect precancerous growths that presage the advent of the disease. Pap smear, a popular test for cervical cancer screening can reduce the incidence of the disease by 80%, if it is done at a regular interval of 3 to 5 years with proper follow-up and counselling. The typically recommended starting age for a pap smear is 21 which can go up to 60-70 years at regular intervals, depending on varying guidelines.

Every healthy individual should have an annual cervical cancer check-up, Get cervical cancer check-up done today at special checkup centres in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Nashik, Goa, Solapur, Bhilai, Vapi, Jalgaon, Belgaum & More cities

References:

  1. Cancer Mortality in India – Lancet
  2. Cervical Cancer in India – South Asia Centre for Chronic Disease
  3. The Magnitude of Cancer Cervix in India – Indian Council of Medical Research
  4. European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Cancer Screening
  5. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Cervical Cancer Screening.
  6. Intraepithelial neoplasia of the lower genital tract (cervix, vulva)
  7. Cancer screening in the United States, 2010: a review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and issues in cancer screening.
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