The cervix is an organ that is only present in women, and connects the uterus to the vagina. When cells in the cervix start to undergo abnormal changes, known as pre-cancerous changes, then this can represent the early stages of cervical cancer.
There are two types of cervical cancer: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Of these, we know that the vast majority of cases are squamous cell carcinomas. Cervical cancer can be picked up early and prevented from occurring through regular screening, which is recommended for women of all ages.
Causes of Cervical Cancer
We should make it clear that, as with all cancers, cervical cancer is caused by factors such as a weak immune system, an acidic pH balance, oxygen deprivation and toxins in the body. However, it is also commonly caused by certain types of HPV (human papilloma virus). Some of these can cause genital warts and, as such, cervical cancer can arise as a result of a sexually transmitted infection.
Smoking is also known to lead to cervical cancer, and we know that a combination of an HPV and smoking, or an HPV and another sexually transmitted disease, can lead to a greater level of risk.
Cervical Cancer Symptoms
The most common symptom for cervical cancer, and the one that sends most women to the doctor in the first place, is abnormal vaginal bleeding. This could include bleeding outside of the regular period, bleeding after the menopause or any other type of bleeding.
Pain during sexual intercourse is also known to be a symptom, as is bleeding directly after intercourse. Pain related to sex is known as dyspareunia in the medical community.
Conventional Treatments
If the cancer is confined to the outside layer of the cervix, then we have the option of a number of surgery treatments that can be completed to remove the affected cells. The most common include laser surgery, which kills the cancerous cells using a laser beam; cryosurgery, which is the killing of cancerous cells through freezing; and a cone biopsy, which is when a piece of cervical tissue affected by the cancer is completely removed.
These procedures are fine if the cancer is in its early stages, but if the cancer is invasive and has managed to get inside the outer layer, then a hysterectomy is the most common form of surgery. This could either be a simple hysterectomy or a radical hysterectomy, which is more serious. However, both involve the removal of the uterus, making it impossible to become pregnant.
Chemotherapy and radiation are also commonly used if the cancer has spread, but we would warn you that these include a lot of unpleasant side effects, including hair loss, weakness and nausea.
Alternative and Complementary Treatments
Due to the nature of the side effects associated with conventional treatments, many people opt instead for alternative treatments, which have very few, if any, side effects and provide a far more natural way to cure different types of cancer.
We can recommend the Budwig Diet as one of the most effective alternative therapies in combating any type of cancer, including cervical cancer. This special diet, administered under the guidance of trained experts, has at its heart a very simple idea which has proved time and time again to be a powerful anti-cancer treatment.
The basic premise of this completely natural alternative treatment is that in order to grow, cancer cells require glucose. The Budwig Diet aims to reduce the amount of glucose in the blood through reducing the amount of sugar in the diet of the cancer patient, and is one of the most effective alternative treatments. However, some programmes go even further and recommend the complete absence of sugar from the diet. This leads to the body using less insulin, and the cancer cells therefore cannot grow.
The Budwig Diet should be specially administered, but at its heart it is a diet rich in raw vegetables, which prevents sugars from being consumed. The immune system also strengthens as a result, allowing the body to fight the weakened cancer cells more effectively.
As well as the Budwig Diet, we can also recommend a number of other alternative therapies which aim to combat cancerous cells in the body. These consist of emotional healing, which is the balancing of the meridian through the increasing of inner strength; biophotonic light therapy, which is the targeting of cancer cells using completely natural UV rays; massage therapy, which is the use of different types of massage to stimulate the circulation of energy; and techniques such as using SCIO Energetic Frequency Equipment, which aims to destroy the cancer cells through mechanical vibration.
Cervical Cancer And Pregnancy
Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy in women worldwide, and it remains a leading cause of cancer-related death for women in developing countries. Cervical tumors usually affects women of middle age or older, but it may be diagnosed in any reproductive-aged woman. Cervical tumors are classified as either preinvasive where the lower third of the epithelium contains abnormal cells, or invasive in which the full thickness of the epithelium contains abnormally proliferating cells.
Cervical cancer develops in the lining of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus (womb) that enters the vagina. Cervical cancers don't always spread, but those that do most often spread to the lungs, the liver, the bladder, the vagina, and/or the rectum.
Cause
Cervical cancer almost always develops from cell changes caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is spread through genital skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity. Cervical carcinoma also seems more prevalent in women who smoke. Sexual activity that increases the risk for infection with HPV and HIV and for cervical cancer includes the following: Having multiple sexual partners or having sex with a promiscuous partner, a history of sexually transmitted disease, sexual intercourse at a young age.
Signs and Symptoms
The early stages of cervical cancer may be completely asymptomatic. Symptoms of advanced disease may include: loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, leg pain, a single swollen leg, heavy bleeding from the vagina, leaking of urine or feces from the vagina and bone fractures.
Diagnosis
The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test has been used to screen for pre-cancerous lesions in asymptomatic women for the past 50 years. While the pap smear is an effective screening test, confirmation of the diagnosis of cervical cancer or pre-cancer requires a biopsy of the cervix. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, the precursor to cervical cancer, is often diagnosed on examination of cervical biopsies by a pathologist.
Other Risk Factors
Women with diets low in fruits and vegetables may be at increased risk for cervical cancer. Research suggests that the risk of cervical carcinomas goes up the longer a woman takes oral contraceptives, but the risk goes back down again after the OCs are stopped. Women who have had many full term pregnancies have an increased risk of developing cervical cancer.
Prevention
Cervical cancer is the easiest female cancer to prevent, because there is a vaccine and a screening test available. The vaccine known as Gardasil offers protection from the most dangerous types of HPV and recently published results indicate that new cervical tumors may eventually be reduced by as much as 97% in those areas where vaccination is introduced and maintained.
Treatment
Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer, the size and shape of the tumor, the age and general health of the woman, and her desire to have children in the future. Appropriate treatment also depends on accurate clinical staging. Preinvasive stages may be treated total excisional biopsy, cryosurgery or laser destruction. Invasive squamous cell carcinoma therapy may include hysterectomy and radiation therapy.
Internal radiation therapy uses a device filled with radioactive material, which is placed inside the woman's vagina next to the cervical cancer. Some of the drugs used for chemotherapy for cervical cancer include 5-FU, Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Ifosfamide, Paclitaxel, and Cyclophosphamide.
Thirty-five percent of patients with invasive disease have persistent or recurrent tumours after treatment. Recurrent cervical cancer detected at its earliest stages might be successfully treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of the three.
Survival
The chance of being alive in 5 years for cancer that has spread to the inside of the cervix walls but not outside the cervix area is 92%. However, the 5-year survival rate falls steadily as it spreads into other areas. Recently, the combined use of cisplatin and topotecan was shown to significantly improve survival compared with single-agent cisplatin. If you combine all the stages together, the five-year survival rate is about 73%.
As the cancer metastasizes to other parts of the body, prognosis drops dramatically because treatment of local lesions is generally more effective than whole body treatments such as chemotherapy.
Both Rob Griggs & Dick Aronson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Rob Griggs has sinced written about articles on various topics from Types of Cancer, Education and Types of Cancer. The Mariposas Clinic is a wellness center and clinic specializing in alternative and and other f. Rob Griggs's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.
Dick Aronson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Types of Cancer, Acupuncture Chiropractor and Types of Cancer. Dick Aronson has a background of over 35 years in various facets of the Healthcare industry. He set up and ran clinical trials in more than 20 countries and he has also founded a number of small private health related businesses. Dick now runs a number of. Dick Aronson's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.