1ST CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL

Cervical cancer is a malignant disease that primarily affects the cervix, and then quickly spreads to nearby organs (for example, the bladder), disrupting their function; actively metastasizes. If the disease is detected in late stages, it quickly leads to a significant deterioration in quality of life and death, since treatment options are limited.

The problem of the spread of this disease is one of the main ones in modern gynecology. It is alarming that such a diagnosis is increasingly being made to young women who are in the prime of their reproductive years. If we are talking about the age group under 35 years, then out of 100 thousand women 5.8 get cervical cancer, and 5.4 die from it. Only 35.8% of women live more than 5 years after the disease.

The statistics are not encouraging: over the past ten years, there has been no decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer in Minsk, despite the availability of timely diagnosis. It is important to understand that this disease is potentially preventable. It is much easier to detect in the early stages and treat than malignant diseases of many other organs (for example, the stomach or intestines).

According to world statistics, cervical cancer is in first place in terms of prevalence among all malignant diseases in women. In Belarus and Minsk, it is one of the three most common cancers in women. According to global reports, the death rate from cervical cancer is more than 260 thousand women per year. The greatest number of deaths from this disease were observed in countries with low availability of qualified medical care (Mali, Uganda, etc.).

There are several main reasons for the development of the disease.

One of them is the human papillomavirus (HPV) , which is a proven factor in the occurrence of this serious illness. The scientist who discovered the relationship between HPV infection and the development of cervical cancer was awarded the Nobel Prize. However, you should not assume that if you carry HPV, a woman is doomed to develop cervical cancer and it is impossible to prevent it. If the infection is detected in a timely manner, a full diagnosis and treatment is carried out, and the situation is constantly monitored, then cervical cancer can be avoided. However, it is important to remember that HPV does not act alone. The virus behaves most aggressively in the presence of accompanying predisposing factors: early onset of sexual activity, a large number of sexual partners, early births, a large number of abortions, refusal of condoms (after all, a condom is a barrier that allows a woman to avoid infection from a sexual partner), the presence of background diseases (for example, cervical erosion, chlamydia and other STIs), immunodeficiency conditions, smoking (even passive smoking).

One of the leading American magazines devoted to women's health (“Fertility and Sterility”) published an article which stated that the content of heavy metals in the tissues of the cervix of women who smoke is significantly higher than that of those who do not smoke. and never smoked. Studies have proven that smoking has an extremely negative effect on the health of the cervix and provokes the development of malignant diseases.

One of the factors in the occurrence of malignant diseases of the female genital organs is also an increased level of estrogen, which is often observed in obese women. Therefore, representatives of the fair sex who are significantly overweight are also at risk.

It should be noted that cervical cancer can be prevented or detected in the early stages, when treatment is most effective.

Many women believe that if nothing hurts, then there is no need to go to the doctor, but this attitude towards their own health is fundamentally wrong. It is necessary to go for examination to a gynecologist at least once a year, even if there are no complaints about your health. And at any age: both young girls and older women. This is a culture of attitude towards one’s own health, mandatory self-care.

The problem is that cervical cancer in its early stages causes absolutely no pain. If pronounced symptoms appear, it means that we are already talking about an advanced stage. However, there are some signals - “bells” that should alert a woman: the appearance of copious liquid (watery) discharge from the genital tract, contact bleeding (i.e. spotting during sexual intercourse or during examination by a gynecologist), spotting outside of menstruation

The remaining symptoms (impaired urination, lower back pain, impaired bowel movements, weakness) are already considered late. Therefore, it is important to regularly inform the population about the need for regular and timely examinations. Only early diagnosis will reduce mortality from cervical cancer. After all, identifying the disease at an early stage gives doctors a chance to save a woman’s life, while treatment of cervical cancer in advanced stages has low effectiveness.

Just one simple test - a smear for oncocytology - allows you to timely detect precancerous changes and cervical cancer itself, so it is recommended to take this test annually. If a woman is sexually active and changes sexual partners, she should also take smears to determine the human papillomavirus and other sexually transmitted infections.

Today, an alternative progressive method for the early diagnosis of cervical cancer, such as liquid oncocytology, is actively developing. This analysis makes it possible to detect with high confidence even the lowest content of cancer cells in the material. And this technique already exists in Minsk.

At the moment, doctors have every opportunity to detect cervical cancer in a timely manner - women only need to be attentive and caring towards their own health, which will be expressed in regular preventive examinations with a gynecologist.