Prevention of cervical cancer

What is prevention?

There are a lot of people in the world who fear cancer and would do anything in order to avoid having it. Doing such a thing is prevention of cancer. People should know that there is no sure way a person can prevent having cancer but following certain actions, he or she will lessen the risk of cancer. People who wish to prevent cancer should avoid risk factors, which are all the things that are supposed to increase the chance of developing cancer. Protective factor is just the opposite. People should also know that certain risk factors can be avoided while many cannot. Smoking is a risk factor which can be avoided. On the other hand genes cannot. Some of the best protective factors are regular exercises and a healthy diet. According to certain studies, a person can reduce the chance of cancer by changing lifestyle and eating habits, avoiding factors which are known to cause cancer and by taking certain medications which treat precancerous conditions.

When malignant cells form in the cervix, a person is suffering from cervical cancer. Uterus is a birth canal; it connects the vagina to the uterus. Cervical cancer type is the one that does not happen fast. This cancer type develops slowly. Before becoming malignant, cells in the cervix go through some changes. First dysplasia commences when the normal cells become abnormal. The number of abnormal cells will determine whether the dysplasia will go away or not. If dysplasia is not treated, in time it will turn into cancer.

Cervical cancer prevention

Even though there is no way to prevent getting cervical cancer, people can avoid risk factors and lessen the chance of getting cancer. For instance, people should avoid smoking, being overweight and not exercising at all. On the other hand, protective factors like following a healthy diet, exercising regularly and quitting smoking will aid in cancer prevention. People can also talk to their doctor and find out about the risk and protective factors. According to most experts, some of the most common risk factors of cervical cancer are HPV infection, smoking, high number of full-term pregnancies and long-term use of oral contraceptives.

Preventing HPV infection is the best way a person can decrease the chance of cervical cancer. By avoiding sexual activity, using barrier protection or spermicidal gels and getting an HPV vaccine a person will prevent getting an HPV infection. A person can also go on regular screening tests like pelvic exams and Pap tests in order to find any abnormal cells.