by Trenna Sue Hiler

Created on: May 24, 2008

It's always nice when you think about cancer to begin with the good news. Cervical cancer is almost 100% curable when it is diagnosed in its early stages and treated promptly. The best way to identify irregularities in cervical cells is the Pap test. These irregularities could develop into cancer cells.

Cervical cancer grows when abnormal cells on the cervix grow out of control. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens up into the vagina. Most cervical cancer is caused by a virus that is called human papillomavirus or HPV.

HPV is spread through sexual contact. It stays hidden in your body, sometimes for many years. Then suddenly this dormancy ends and abnormal cells begin to abound. Regular Pap tests can not be emphasized enough.

Symptoms for cervical cancer can be hard to spot. Most of them can be explained away. It's important if you are experiencing any of these symptoms that you follow up with a gynecologist and get proper testing.

Most common cervical cancer early symptoms include the following:

*Heavy bleeding during menstrual period
*Increased urinary frequency
*Pain during sex
*Vaginal discharge that is tinged with blood
*Pelvic pain

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is also called cervical dysplasia. CIN is not cancer, but some of these cellular changes can develop into cancer in some women. There is no test to determine if this will turn to cancer.

Cervical dysplasia is a fairly common occurrence. More than 55.000 women are diagnosed with this every year.

Noninvasive Carcinoma is a very early form of cervical cancer that involves only the top layer of the cervical cells. It hasn't gone any deeper into the tissue or spread to other areas in the reproductive system.

Invasive Cervical Cancer is at a stage when the cancer has formed deep into the cervix and in neighboring tissues and organs. This cancer is still curable when it remains inside the reproductive tract. When it invades the other areas it becomes harder and less effective to treat.

All women are at risk to develop cervical cancer. There are still some who have a higher risk.
*Cigarette smokers
*Woman who are sexually active at an early age
*African American are in a higher risk category
*Risk of this cancer increases with age

If it sounds like some one is harping please understand the reason. The best way to prevent people from dying of cervical cancer is regular and yearly Pap tests. Please take your mom, sister, daughter, neighbor, and a stranger to visit your gynecologist. This is something we can cure, together.

Reference:
www.healthsquare.com
www.webmd.com

Learn more about this author, Trenna Sue Hiler.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.