Saturday, August 1, 2009

What is Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer is a disease in which the cells of the cervix become abnormal and start to grow uncontrollably, forming tumors.The cervix is the lower part of the uterus. It is sometimes called the uterine cervix. The body of the uterus, is where a fetus grows. The cervix connects the body of the uterus to the vagina (birth canal). The part of the cervix closest to the body of the uterus is called the endocervix. The part next to the vagina is the exocervix (or ectocervix). The place where these 2 parts meet is called the transformation zone. Most cervical cancers start in the transformation zone.

Cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body.Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place.

Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.

Benign tumors are not cancer:

Benign tumors are rarely life-threatening.

Generally, benign tumors can be removed, and they usually do not grow back.

Cells from benign tumors do not invade the tissues around them.

Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.

Polyps, cysts, and genital warts are types of benign growths on the cervix.

Older women are at the highest risk for Cervical cancer. Although girls under the age of 15 rarely develop this cancer, the risk factor begins to increase in the late teens. Rates for carcinoma in situ peak between the ages of 20 and 30. In the United States, the incidence of invasive Cervical cancer increases rapidly with age for African American women over the age of 25. The incidence rises more slowly for Caucasian women. However, women over age 65 account for more than 25% of all cases of invasive cervical cancer.

The incidence of Cervical cancer is highest among poor women and among women in developing countries. In the United States, the death rates from Cervical cancer are higher among Hispanic, Native American, and African American women than among Caucasian women. These groups of women are much less likely to receive regular Pap tests. Therefore, their Cervical cancer usually are diagnosed at a much later stage, after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

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