Cervical Cancer

Cervical Cancer
(Cancer of the Cervix)

• What is the cervix?
• What is cancer?
• What are the risk factors and causes of cervical cancer?
• What is the screening process for cervical cancer?
• What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?
• How is cervical cancer diagnosed?
• How is cervical cancer treated?
• What are the side effects of treatment for cervical cancer?
• What happens after treatment for cervical cancer?
• What support, research, and clinical trials information is available for cervical cancer patients?
• What resources are available to patients with cervical cancer?
• Cervical Cancer At A Glance
• Related cervical cancer articles:
  Cervical cancer - on WebMD

Cervical cancer - on eMedicineHealth

• Patient Discussions: Cervical Cancer - Risk Factors at Time of Diagnosis

What is the cervix?

The cervix is part of a woman's reproductive system. It is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ in the lower abdomen. The cervix connects the uterus to the vagina. The vagina leads to the outside of the body.

The cervical canal is a passageway. Blood flows from the uterus through the canal into the vagina during a woman's menstrual period. The cervix also produces mucus. The mucus helps sperm move from the vagina into the uterus. During pregnancy, the cervix is tightly closed to help keep the baby inside the uterus. During childbirth, the cervix dilates (opens) to allow the baby to pass through the vagina.

What is cancer?

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.

Tumors can be benign or malignant:

• 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.



• Malignant tumors are cancer:



• Malignant tumors are generally more serious than benign tumors. They may be life-threatening.



• Malignant tumors often can be removed. But sometimes they grow back.



• Cells from malignant tumors can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.



• Cells from malignant tumors can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Cancer cells spread by breaking away from the original (primary) tumor and entering the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The cells invade other organs and form new tumors that damage these organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

When cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary tumor. For example, if cervical cancer spreads to the lungs, the cancer cells in the lungs are actually cervical cancer cells. The disease is metastatic cervical cancer, not lung cancer. For that reason, it is treated as cervical cancer, not lung cancer. Doctors call the new tumor "distant" or metastatic disease.

Cervical Cancer - Risk Factors at Time of Diagnosis

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

Did you have any of the risk factors for cervical cancer at the time of your diagnosis? If so, what were they?

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