Misdiagnosis of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer affects the women's lower part of the uterus or cervix.  Every year over 11,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with this cancer.  If it is diagnosed early, treatment can be successful.  On the other hand, a misdiagnosis can result in delayed treatment.  Without the proper treatment, the survival rate decreases considerably and it may lead to death.

There are medical attorneys that will represent victims who had a misdiagnosis of with cancer.  Speak with an attorney regarding the claim; they will evaluate your case free of charge.

How Cervical Cancer Is Diagnosed

Sexually active women should go have regular Pap smears.  While Pap smears are not a diagnostic test, they are used to spot abnormal cells.  If abnormal cells are present, further tests should be ordered to make a positive diagnosis.  Some diagnostic tests include:

• Colposcopy - an instrument called a colposcope is used to look at the cervix and see more clearly areas of abnormal cell growth
• Biopsy - a sample of abnormal tissue is taken from the cervix for testing
• Endocervical scraping - a specialized instrument is used to scrape tissue lining the endocervical canal, an area the doctor cannot reach with the colposcope
• Cone biopsy - a cone-shaped piece of tissue is removed from the cervix

Not overseeing diagnostic tests or misinterpreting the results can put off successful treatment options and the consequences can be fatal.

How Misdiagnosis Occurs

A missed or wrong diagnosis of cervical cancer may occur for the following reasons:

• The doctor fails to recognize symptoms of cervical cancer, thereby failing to perform the tests necessary for diagnosis
• The doctor fails to obtain a full patient history, which is important for identifying risk factors such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
• Lab results are misinterpreted
• A laboratory error causes the patient's results to be confused with another patient's

There are many types of misdiagnosis.  Delayed diagnosis, missed diagnosis and wrong diagnosis can each have their own consequence.  For instance, a wrong diagnosis of cancer when a patient does not have it can mean a person undergoing treatments that are not needed.  In addition, if cancer was missed, a patient will not receive treatment they actually need to live.

Have You Been Misdiagnosed?

If you were misdiagnosed with cervical cancer, there is legal action you can take and with the help of a medical attorney, it can happen.  The negligent party can be held liable and a victim can recover some compensation for damages lost.  This can include lost wages, treatment costs, pain, and suffering.

Contact an attorney to learn more about your legal rights if you have received a misdiagnosis of cervical cancer.  They will evaluate your case at no cost and advise you of your rights.

Learn About Factors That Can Affect Cervical Cancer Prognosis

Once someone has been diagnosed with cervical cancer, they often wonder (along with treatment options, recovery time, and lifestyle changes) what their prognosis or their chance of recovery is and how long they will live.

This is a fair question and cervical cancer prognosis depends on a number of different things such as:

- The stage of the cancer (whether it affects part of the cervix, involves the whole cervix, or has spread to the lymph nodes or other places in the body).
- The type of cervical cancer.
- The size of the tumor.

Treatment options depend on the following:

- The stage of the cancer.
- The size of the tumor.
- The patient's desire to have children.
- The patient's age.

What if you are pregnant and are diagnosed with cervical cancer?

Treatment of cervical cancer during pregnancy depends on the stage of the cancer and the stage of the pregnancy. For cervical cancer found early or for cancer found during the last trimester of pregnancy, treatment may be delayed until after the baby is born. 

I hope you got lots of value from this article, as I definitely did try to provide it. As this article has been informative, it is your job to do further research and educate yourself.

Cancer is horrible, as we all know - but there is a good way and a bad way of dealing with it and getting past it. The better your attitude and knowledge, the better off you will be.

Cervical Cancer Risk Reduction

Of all the common cancer that affect woman, cervical cancer is among the top list. Sexually transmitted HPV (human papillomavirus) is the culprit in most cases of cervical cancers. Over half of the cervical cancer reported cases occur in women between 40 and 55 although it is not uncommon for women of 35 to be amongst the risk group. The body's immune system works to keep the HPV from doing damage, yet the HPV virus can last for years and over time it takes some cells on the surface and turns them to cervix cancer cells. Routine and periodic screening from paps tests can help you catch this early and thus this has helped reduce the number of deaths in women in the United States, but still we lose 4,000 to 5,000 women a year to cervical cancers.

In research the things, which increase risk of cervical cancer may include large numbers of sexual partners, which increase risk of HPV. Having other sexually transmitted diseases also increase you chances of cervical cancer. Weak immune system periods can increase your bodies ability to keep the HPV at bay. Early sexual activity can also cause a problem, due to non-mature cells being more apt to take on the cancer cell growth. Even smoking although research is not conclusive may in fact inhibit your bodies defenses against HPV.

Your strategy for reduction of risk of the HPV and cervical cancer damage should include routine and periodic paps tests. Ask your doctor for additional information and do your own research on this. It is smart to pay attention and early screening is the key to saving lives. Think on this.

The Symptoms Of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is another form of uterine cancer. It begins in the cells on the surface of the cervix, either on the lower part, or in the upper part of the cervix. It is a slow-growing and malignant cancer. (Malignant simply means that it spreads). The cervix is the connector that connects the uterus to the birth canal, and is actually a part of the uterus.

Cervical cancer is usually the result of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is spread through sexual contact. The virus can survive in the body for many years before it causes cancer, and in some cases the cancer never develops.

A new vaccine is available to stop the virus, and medical professionals are encouraging young girls and women to get the vaccine. The claim is that by the year 2022 cervical cancers will be reduced due to the vaccine. But the vaccine is still to new, to know about all the possible long-term side-effects it will cause. The best way to be on guard against this cancer is to build up the immune system and eliminate as many risk factors as possible.

Those at highest risk for developing this cancer are young girls who became sexually active before the age of 18, and those who have, or have had numerous partners. Those who smoke, use birth control pill, condoms and tampons are also at a higher risk.

The symptoms of cervical cancer may not appear until the later stages of the cancer, but pre-cancerous cells can be detected with a pap test.

The following symptoms may occur in the more advanced stages of cervical cancer.

- Bleeding in between periods, or after menopause. This can be heavy or light bleeding.
- Pelvic pains which can be dull or sharp pains, and can last for hours.
- A vaginal discharge may also occur, and may be foul smelling, thick, and may contain mucus or blood.
- Leaking of urine or feces from vagina.
- Bleeding after intercourse.
- Pain during intercourse.
- Pain or heavy bleeding while menstruating.
- Pain during urinating can occur if cancer has spread to the bladder.
- Loss of appetite, which can lead to weight loss.

Other symptoms may include fatigue, back pain, leg pain, a single swollen leg, and easy fracturing of the bones.

Treatments are available; one can choose either conventional treatments which consist of chemo, radiation and surgery, or, one can choose to be healed naturally using Chinese medicines, or herbs.

Aims of the Cervical Cancer Vaccine

Cervix is the neck of the uterus. It is the bottom, slim part of the uterus which is connected to the topmost part of the vagina. Cervical cancer is believed to be due to the infection caused by HPV (Human Papillomavirus). The malignant symptoms of this cancer include bleeding of the vagina, contact bleeding and vaginal mass. Other symptoms include moderate pain during sexual intercourse and vaginal discharge. In the advanced stages of this disease, a person experiences loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, leg pain, single swollen leg, heavy vaginal bleeding, bone fractures and leaking of urine or feces from the vagina.

Because of the growing cases of cervical cancer each year, a cervical cancer vaccine was made available. It was aimed to provide protection from HPV which is believed to be the root cause of most cervical cancer. Gardasil is the first cervical cancer vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Its effectiveness is said to be up to 98%. Cervarix is the other cervical cancer vaccine which is already in use in some countries. But in other countries, it is still waiting for approval before its full campaign. Gardasil vaccine protects against HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. Cervarix is said to be 92% effective against HPV 16 and 18. HPV types 6 and 11 are considered as the cause for 90% reason for all genital warts issues. HPV 16 and 18, on the other hand, are considered as the cause for 70% of all cervical cancer issues. The vaccine aims to particularly block the causes of the cancer (such as the HPV) to even get to the core.

Out of the 11,000 American women established to have cervical cancer yearly, close to 4,000 of them die because of the said disease. Is the fifth most common cancer that causes death amongst women. At present, Gardasil and Cervarix are highly recommend to women from ages nine to twenty five years old who never experienced HPV yet. But another study shows that this HPV vaccine can also be effective for women from ages forty-five and above.

Gardasil vaccination among men reduces their risk of getting genital warts and precancerous lesions because of the HPV. This vaccine is particularly popular among gay men. Aside from getting genital warts, they are the ones more likely to have penile and anal cancers as well.

At present, Gardasil is not recommended to pregnant women since its long term fertility effect is not yet known.

Until today, vaccines are reported to be safe. In the United States, more than sixteen million doses of the vaccine were dispensed already. Amongst the most common side-effects are soreness where the injection was done, slight fever, dizziness and fainting. However, all these are only considered common mild effects. There were also reports of some serious side-effects such as brain swelling, severe allergic response, paralysis, weakness and death; however, these were not linked to the vaccine itself. Still, the FDA continues to monitor on this.

The Stages Of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is a slow-growing and malignant cancer. The cancer cells are formed in the cells on the surface of the cervix, which is located in the pelvic area. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus, and is the tubular muscle which connects the uterus to the birth canal.

Cervical cancer is mainly caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is spread by sexual contact. This virus does not always cause cancer, but it is the cause in most cases. Whether or not this virus will lead to cancer depends on the lifestyle and immune system of that individual. Those with a strong immune system can normally fight the virus.

There are basically two main types of cancerous cells in cervical cancer. The Squamous cell carcinomas and the Adenocarcinomas. 80 to 90 percent of all cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. These begin in the thin cells which line the bottom of the cervix. 10 to 20 percent are Adenocarcinomas, and they begin in the glandular cells which line the upper part of the cervix.

What are the stages of cervical cancer?

Basically there are 5 stages of this cancer, and they usually are numbered 0-4. If the cancer is not stopped in time it will spread to the uterus, bladder, abdomen, lungs and other organs. Once it spreads to the organs, there is little or no hope of survival.

Stage 0.) At this stage the cancer cells exist only on the surface of the cervix, and have not begun to spread into the deeper tissues.

Stage 1.) The cancer still remains in the cervix, but the cells have begun to spread into the deeper tissues.

Stage 2.) The cancer has begun to spread to the surrounding tissues of the cervix, and possibly the upper part of the vagina.

Stage 3.) The cancer is starting to spread outside of the cervix. It either spreads down and into the vagina, and into the muscles that line the lower pelvic wall. Or it spreads up towards the

bladder where it can block the flow of urine coming from the kidneys and draining into the bladder.

Stage 4.) The cancer is spreading to the rest of the body, the uterus, and vital organs.

Symptoms of cervical cancer may not appear until the later stages of the cancer, but abnormal or pre-cancerous cells can be detected with a pap smear before the cancer occurs. The sooner the cancer is detected, the greater chance of surviving it.

About Detection Tool: Cervical Cancer Detection Tool

Cancer is the most deadly disease until today. The reason is because the patients do not aware if they have cancer in their body. In Fact, cancer can be detected earlier. On of the most deadly cancer for women is cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer attacks women in their reproductive area. From year to year cancer's patients are increased. In 2002, around four hundred thousand women suffer from this disease. Every day around 40 people are cancer suffered including women with their cervical cancer.

It would be better for the women to check their reproduction organ's health regularly. It should be done by all women whether they have done their first sexual intercourse, married even for a single woman. It is important since women are not aware that they have suffered this disease. The purpose is to prevent and detect the cancer's cell. The earlier the cancer is detected the bigger the chance to cure it. All oncologists stated that cervical cancer is the most treatable diseases so it will be better if the disease is detected earlier. By checking your organ to the doctor regularly, you have prevented your self from cervical cancer.

Detecting the presence of cancer cells in the body is recommended by every doctor. Early stage of this cancer can be detected by Pap smear test. This method is used to detect the earlier stage of the cancer or the change of the cervix. This tool is found by Papa George Nicolaou in 1924s. Then, it broadly used in 1949.

The patients will be checked in lithotomic position. The doctor will take a sample of the cervix using aylesbury spatula. This method is very affordable for all women. Even though you have done the test but it would be better if you check it regularly. This article describes Pap smear as detection tool and method for cervical cancer.