About Women’s Health Care

Every year, about a quarter of a million women around the world die from cervical cancer, the 5th leading cause of cancer deaths in women.

Several risk factors have been linked with cervical cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, these are: smoking; infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), HIV and chlamydia; hormonal contraception; multiple pregnancies; and family history of cervical cancer. Among these factors, HPV infection is the most significant.

HPV infection commonly affects women with multiple sexual partners. Although not all HPV types can lead to cervical cancer, it is interesting to note that a patient must have been infected with a high-risk type HPV to develop cervical cancer.

An HPV infection usually goes undetected, largely because it does not present any symptoms. However, this does not mean it is not contagious.

Though cervical cancer may be asymptomatic during the early stages, symptoms include moderate pain during sexual intercourse, and vaginal bleeding (including during intercourse). In more advanced stages, the patient may experience loss of appetite, pelvic and back pain, and heavy bleeding.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 @ 4:00 pm on the category Cervical Cancer, Disease in focus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.