Women's Health Promotion: Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is a serious women's health issue. While many women go to their doctor yearly for testing in order to detect cancer and other problems early, many other women ignore this important examination (Gadducci, et al., 2011; Harper, 2004). Additionally, women who have symptoms of cervical cancer often avoid seeing their doctor. They may not have health insurance, they may be frightened, or they may think that something less serious is the cause of their symptoms (Peto, 2004). Because of that, they put off being tested for cancer through a pap smear. If any of these women do develop cervical cancer, their treatment will be more difficult because their disease will have advanced further since it was not caught early. That is something worth considering for any woman who is not sure if she wants to get an exam or has been avoiding an examination for lack of insurance, fear, or any other reason.
The most common symptom of cervical cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding (Luhn, 2013; Peto, 2004). This is the symptom that will send the majority of women to their doctor, but there are also times when cervical cancer remains asymptomatic until it is in the late stages. There can also be pelvic and back pain, leg pain and swelling, and vaginal discharge, along with pain during intercourse (Peto, 2004). At that point it can be much harder to cure, and may have spread to other organs and tissues, as well. That can take something with a good survival rate and make it very difficult to cure. Early detection is the key. Women who see their doctor regularly are more likely to get that early detection. While a diagnosis of cervical cancer can be frightening, it is often less scary if it is caught early enough and is found to be much more treatable.
Literature Review
The seriousness of cervical cancer must be noted. All too often, women do not take this particular threat seriously. That can be because they have no family history of the disease, or because they do not feel comfortable seeing their doctor about such a private area. Depending on the country and the culture, adequate medical care and testing may not be available. Nearly 80% of all the cervical cancer found each year is in countries that are still developing, with the rest being seen in developed countries like the U.S. And countries in Europe (Gadducci, et al., 2011). The main reason that there are fewer cases of cervical cancer in developed countries is due to the fact that there is much more testing in those countries. Developing countries often do not offer the same kinds of tests, and the tests they do have are not given to enough people to really make a difference in saving lives. For women who have good testing available, seeing their doctor for that testing regularly is important.
HPV
There are several things that can cause cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is one of the most common (Gadducci, et al., 2011; Luhn, 2013). The idea that a virus causes cancer can seem strange to some people, but that is exactly what happens. Women get HPV through sexual contact with others who are infected (Luhn, 2013). Once they contract it, their risk of getting cervical cancer goes up significantly. It is estimated that nearly 90% of the women who acquire cervical cancer do so because they contracted HPV (Luhn, 2013). While many HPV infections clear up on their own with no side effects, that is not the case for all of them. Those that do not clear up properly can lead to other problems, and cervical cancer is one of those problems. Overall, HPV is very curable. Most women do not know they have it, and it clears up on its own.
Smoking
Smoking is another cause of cervical cancer. Women who smoke are much more likely to develop the disease (Gadducci, et al., 2011). While that may seem odd because smoking is generally thought to cause problems with the heart and lungs, and not with the reproductive organs, smoking is very damaging to the body on many levels. It creates damage all throughout the body, which can manifest itself in many different ways (Peto, 2004). Women who smoke are putting themselves at risk for cervical cancer, but the good news is that their risk will go down once they stop smoking. Since quitting smoking is so very important for a multitude of reasons, it is important that women who smoke work with their doctors...
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