Symptoms of Cervical Cancer and Treatment Options
Cervical cancer is recognized as a kind of cancer that arises from the cervix and it happens because of the unusual growth of cells that have got the capability to spread or invade other portions of the body. Commonly, during the early stages, patients do not see any symptoms. The later symptoms comprise uncommon vaginal bleeding, pain at the time of sexual intercourse, or pelvic pain. Though bleeding post-sex isn’t serious enough, yet, it might also indicate the occurrence of cervical cancer.
Symptoms Of Cervical Cancer
During the initial stages of this disease, people might experience absolutely no symptoms and so, it becomes important for them to go through regular Pap tests or cervical smear tests. However, it is pretty easy to prevent a Pap test and its intention is not detecting cancer but revealing any changes in the cell which might indicate the probable growth of cancer. This is done so that people can take initial action for treating it. The highly common symptoms of this disease are:
- Vaginal discharge having a strong odor.
- Bleeding between periods.
- Pelvic pain.
- Vaginal discharge which is tinged with blood.
- Discomfort at the time of sexual intercourse.
- Women who have passed the menopausal period witness bleeding.
- Bleeding after you have had sexual intercourse.
However, it should be noted that the above-mentioned symptoms can accompany other causes too that include infection, and any person who does experience any of the above-mentioned symptoms should seek a doctor.
Treatment For Cervical Cancer
There are present various kinds of cervical cancer treatment processes for patients suffering from cervical cancer. A few treatment types tend to be standard and some happen to be examined in clinical trials. 5 kinds of standard treatment that are utilized are:
Surgery
Surgery is useful for treating cervical cancer and for this, the below-mentioned surgical processes are used:
- Conization
- Total Hysterectomy
Radiation Therapy
It is recognized as a cervical cancer treatment that makes use of higher energy x-rays or various other kinds of radiation for killing cancer cells. This therapy also stops them from growing more. The two kinds of radiation therapy are:
- External radiation therapy
- IMRT or Intensity-modulated radiation therapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a kind of cancer treatment that uses drugs for stopping cancer cells’ growth. It does this job either by making the cells killed or stops them from diving further. At a time when chemotherapy gets injected into a muscle or vein or taken by mouth, the drugs do enter the patient’s bloodstream for reaching the cancer cells all through the body and it is called systematic chemotherapy. Again, when chemotherapy is positioned into the cerebrospinal fluid directly, then the drugs commonly affect cancer cells present in those areas and it is called regional chemotherapy.
- Targeted Therapy – This kind of treatment utilizes drugs or other compounds for identifying and attacking particular cancer cells. But, this treatment doesn’t harm the normal cells.
- Immunotherapy – This cervical cancer treatment process utilizes the immune system of the patients for fighting cancer. It is also called biologic therapy or biotherapy.
Conclusion
If you come across any symptom or sign that bothers you, you need to appoint your doctor straight away. Now, if you are thought to be suffering from cervical cancer, you might be referred to a specialist in cervical cancer.
