Cervical Cancer
How To Avoid Cervical Cancer
A combination of regular screening and healthy lifestyle choices are essential to the prevention of cervical cancer .
Text : Leena Gauba
There are over 100 different strains of HPV , but most are low-risk and do not cause cancer
The womb is perhaps the most precious part of a woman ’ s body – it ’ s where life is first formed , nourished and nurtured . It would seem natural then , that for most women , making a conscious effort to care for their uterus would be a top priority , but this is not always the case , given the high incidence of cervical cancer around the world . What many women don ’ t realise is that , by just taking a few simple precautionary measures , they can lower the risk of cervical cancer , a disease that can rob the body of its life-creating and nurturing role .
According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the world , claiming the lives of 275,000 women a year . The National Cervical Cancer Coalition in the US reports that a woman dies of cervical cancer almost every two minutes . The disease tends to occur in midlife , with most cases found in women younger than 50 . But many older women don ’ t realise that the risk of developing cervical cancer is still present as they age , with 15 percent of cervical cancer cases found in women over 65 , according to a 2015 report by the American Cancer Society .
A cylinder-shaped neck of tissue that connects the vagina and uterus , the cervix is vital to a woman ’ s overall health . The simplest ways to maintain a healthy cervix are through regular medical screening and healthy lifestyle choices that can serve to boost the immune system , which is vital to the prevention of cancers .
Locating the origins of cervical cancer The upper part of the cervix closest to the uterus is called the endocervix , while the lower part next to
the vagina is called the ectocervix . Two types of cells cover the cervix -- glandular cells ( the endocervix ) and squamous cells ( the ectocervix ).
Most cervical cancers start in cells located in an area called the “ transformation zone ”, where the cells from the endocervix and ectocervix meet . The area and its location change over time and after giving birth . Normal cells in the cervix can develop pre-cancerous changes that then turn into cancer , a process that can take several years . In some cases , however , this can happen as quickly as a year , but , in most women , pre-cancer changes will disappear without treatment . Proper treatment of precancer cells will also normally prevent cancers from developing .
Cervical cancer typically comes in two forms -- squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . About 80 percent appear as squamous cell cancers and form in the ectocervix , next to the vagina . Squamous cell carcinomas usually begin forming in the transformation zone , an area of changing cells and one most vulnerable to Human Papillomaviruses or HPV .
Most of the other cervical cancers appear as adenocarcinoma , which develop from gland cells that produce mucus in the endocervix , the upper part of the cervix near the uterus . Less common cervical cancers have features of both squamous cell cancers and adenocarcinomas and are called adenosquamous carcinoma .
How cervical cancer develops : the Human Papillomavirus ( HPV ) The main cause of cervical cancer is the Human Papillomavirus ( HPV ), which is found in around 99 percent of cases and is one of the most common
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