25 Oct 2019
If a patient has signs and symptoms of cervical cancer, such as abnormal vaginal bleedingduring menstruation, whenpostmenopausal, duringsexual intercourse or whenthereisabnormal or increased vaginal dischargethis must betakenseriously. A smearshouldbeprescribed by the attendingphysician to screen for precancerous or cancerouslesions of the cervix.
Diagnose an anomaly:
The smearwilldetect the presence of HPV (human papillomavirus) responsible for 70% of cervical cancers.
If the smearisabnormal and a virus isdetected, do not bealarmedbecausegenerally, thereisnothingserious or urgent.
If the Papilloma Virus (HPV) has been identified by the smear, a colonoscopyshouldbeperformed to confirm the existence of abnormalcells and to determine the site of the lesion. In this case, the practitionerperforms a biopsy and makes the diagnosis of lesions.
The lesionmaybeprecancerous and benign, as itmaybe a risk factor thatcanprogress to cancer. It takesseveraldecades for precancerouslesions to develop on the cervix and giverise to true cancer withoutanysymptoms. For thisreason, screening iscurrentlyrecommendedeverythreeyearsaftertwoconsecutive normal smears. This screening is 100% supported by Social Security for womenaged 25 to 65 and more efficient meanswillbe put in place to lengthen the periodbetweentwosmears and allowwomen to taketheirownsamples.
In the absence of earlydetection, the risk of a rapidworsening of the patient's state of healthis not negligible.
The selesions are not frequent but worrying and must beimmediatelytreated by startingwithconization, whichcan have seriousconsequences for subsequentpregnancies.
Depending on the course of the cancer, the treatmentmaybesurgical, includingremoval of a portion of the cervix, or even the entireuterus. If the case iseven more complicated, the treatmentwillinvolvechemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Prevent cervical cancer:
Preventive measures such as screening and vaccination of young girls shouldbetaken, abstinence fromhavingsex at a youngage and with multiple partners, or with people who have multiple sexualpartners, do not smoke, protect your self during sex, have a healthy lifestyle for a good immune system ...
Papillomavirus infection isverycommon but not always worrying. There are low-risk papillomavirusesthat affect both men and women, in which case oral sex practices thatpromoteoropharyngeal (throat and mouth) cancer shouldbeavoided, and men are twice as affected as women by thiscancer.
