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Protect Yourself Against Cervical Cancer

HPV is Preventable - Do What You Can to Avoid This Dangerous Disease

Mar 23, 2009 Jennifer Marsh

Cervical cancer just took a mother, a wife, and a celebrity. Take care to find the best HPV vaccine and treatment for this horrible disease.

Jane Goody, 27 years old and a popular face on British television, died of cervical cancer this month. Cervical cancer is a disease that strikes any woman of any age, ethnic background, or economical class. The cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus, or as it’s better known as HPV. In many cases, the body is able to fight the virus through the intricate nature of the immune system. However, HPV is lysogenic virus which means the microbe integrates itself into the DNA of the host. Where some cells with integrated HPV may be fine, sometimes the virus inserts its genome into an area of the DNA that disturbs the natural reading for proteins for cell death. Since the cell no longer knows how to replicate and die properly, it continues to proliferate and ultimately causes malignant cells.

Cervical Cancer Symptoms

HPV symptoms are usually benign and there are little to no initial signs. Unfortunately, what happens is the increasingly growing cancer cells enter the blood stream and latch on to other tissue and continue to grow. The cancer cells invade the normal tissue of healthy organ cells and cause cervical cancer symptoms to arise at this stage. Some of the main cervical cancer symptoms are unusual discharge from the vagina, bleeding or pain during sex, or anemia brought on from extra bleeding. If you have any of these cervical cancer symptoms, make an appointment with your OB/GYN to have tests run.

Cervical Cancer Diagnosis

Cervical cancer from HPV is spread through sexual contact. Women who are sexually active should use protection and have annual tests performed by their OB/GYN. The test for HPV is called a paps smear. The test is performed by a doctor or nurse practitioner. The process is slightly uncomfortable, but it is not painful. The doctor takes a swab and sends it to a lab to culture HPV if present. If the culture for HPV has a positive result then the doctor will notify the patient for further treatment.

HPV Vaccine

In recent years, researchers have developed the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine is not for everyone, and it is usually given to females between the ages of eleven and twelve. The caveat to the HPV vaccine is that it only protects against certain types of HPV. There are other strains of the virus which can cause issues in healthy women. The more sexual partners a woman has the more likely she will accumulate multiple types of the virus.

Cervical cancer is mostly preventable by the vaccine, but there are risks. Some side effects include allergies with severe consequences such as anaphylaxis, brain swelling, and death. These side effects are rare, but the FDA continues to monitor the reports.

References: MedPlus

The copyright of the article Protect Yourself Against Cervical Cancer in General Medicine is owned by Jennifer Marsh. Permission to republish Protect Yourself Against Cervical Cancer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Cervical Cancer