Cervical Cancer Prevention Measures You Need to Take

The prevention of any illness can be primary or secondary. The previous involves taking action on the determinants of the illness to prevent it from occurring. The second involves the early detection of disease, followed by acceptable interventions to stop its progression.

there has been substantial media PR about the prevention of cervical cancer during the past half a year. Almost all of it has focused on the human papilloma pathogen ( HPV ) vaccine, which has been called a cervical cancer vaccine, though there isn't any such vaccine available anywhere in the world.

Cervical smears have led to a steady decline in the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in developed countries which have introduced population wide screening programmes.

Yet cervical smears have scarcely been discussed in the media target cervical cancer prevention. This is despite the indisputable fact that only 43% of Malaysian women have ever had a cervical smear in their lives ( national Health and Morbidity Survey 2006 ) although cervical cancer is the second most typical cancer in women ( countrywide Cancer Registry 2003 ). There is an overuse of cervical screening by ladies who are younger and/or who are at low risk.

The beginning of cervical cancer begins with changes in the squamocolumnar junction of the cervix where the flat squamous epithelium of the exocervix meets the columnar epithelium of the endocervix. The proportion of the cell nucleus to the cell size is increased in the epithelium in the pre-cancer phase of the illness.

There is a correlation between the induction of these changes and HPV infection. The pre-cancer changes are called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ( CIN ). CIN is graded as mild ( CIN 1 ), moderate ( CIN two ) or harsh ( CIN 3 ). The CIN moves on from mild to moderate to dreadful illness and then invasive cancer over seven to twenty years. There are customarily no symptoms during this progression, which can be perceived by cervical smears.

Cervical cancer has a pre-cancerous phase lasting about 7 to 20 years before the standard cells change to cancer cells. As the danger factors of cervical cancer are known, behavioral interventions can be brought to prevent its development.

Regular pelvic exams and cervical smears would detect most pre-cancerous changes in the cervix. With treatment, the development of aggressive cancer would be stopped. Even if there's aggressive cancer present, it is going to be perceived at an early, curable stage.

The cervical smear is a screening test that uncovers pre-cancerous cells. This enables doctors to refer those with unnatural changes in the cervix for further inquiry and treatment. It must be emphasized that the cervical smear isn't a diagnostic test.

It involves taking a small sample of cells from the cervix using a brush or spatula. The cells are placed on a glass slide or into a container and sent to the lab for minute examination.

Cervical smears are recommended for all women, although if the woman hasn't had sex. The likelihood of cervical cancer in such girls is thought to be low, but it can still occur. Regular pelvic exams and Pap smears should be done once sexual activity starts. The frequency would rely on the findings and the woman's risk profile.

The use of cervical smears in widespread population screening in many developed nations has ended in a marked decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer. It's critical that patients and/or their mom and pop are informed the vaccines provide cover against certain HPV types and not cervical cancer.There are a couple of vaccines available. One vaccine acts against 4 HPV types and the other against 2. They prevent development of the HPV infection. As HPV infection is a big risk allow for the development of cervical pre-cancer, vaccination would forestall some of its development.

Behavioral interventions have an important role to play and they are comparatively economical. Yet they don't seem to be given the same press as that of HPV vaccines. The misconception of many patients and/or their mom and pop that HPV vaccines are the wizardry bullets to get shot of cervical cancer needs to be addressed by health messages that reflect the actuality of cervical cancer prevention.

In short, there needs to be bigger stress by policy makers and healthcare execs on the proven systems of cervical smears and behavioral interventions if there is to be any important impact on reducing the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer.