To my great regret, the number of oncological diseases is growing every year. In women, one of the leading places is cancer of the uterus. Life expectancy has now increased, the female half of the population has a longer period of menopause, this is the reason the doctors associate the increase in morbidity. The risk group includes women 40-60 years old.
What is uterine cancer
Uterus in women, like any other organ, has a three-layer structure. Internal - epithelial tissue, middle - smooth muscular and external - connective. In the course of the development of the disease, a tumor forms on the walls of the uterus, and then, if no treatment measures are taken, it will spread throughout the body.
Because of the multi-layered structure of the uterus, the tumor can be of different types and differs in its localization.
Causes of the disease
Doctors came to the conclusion that the cancer of the body of the uterus begins to develop to a greater extent, if this body was repeatedly exposed to many factors, among which one especially wants to emphasize the following:
- Frequent abortions and ruptures during labor.
- Inflammatory processes, especially of a chronic nature.
- Dystrophic and degenerative changes in epithelial tissue that can occur as a result of hormonal effects.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The presence of human papillomavirus or genital herpes in the body.
- Prolonged intake of hormonal contraceptives.
- Early onset of sexual activity, that is, up to 18 years.
- Having a large number of sexual partners.
- Having bad habits, especially smoking.
- Non-observance of personal hygiene.
Despite the fact that there are many reasons that can provoke cancer of the uterus, the life expectancy with such a diagnosis will depend on many factors. If you turn to a doctor in time, then you can cope with this disease.
Diagnosis of the disease
The setting of any diagnosis begins with a conversation between the doctor and the patient. A woman must be examined by a gynecologist without a thorough examination of any treatment and diagnosis of speech can not go.
The examination begins with an examination of the vagina, cervix with the help of gynecological mirrors. In the presence of the disease, it is usually possible to detect changes in tissues. Often during the examination, a small bleeding may begin, as the tumor traumatizes.
If required, they can prescribe a test through the rectum to determine how much the cancer cells have affected the pelvic wall.
In order to identify a cancerous tumor at an early stage, it is necessary to perform a smear analysis and to make a biopsy. If there is a suspicion of cancer of the cervical canal, then scraping is performed and sent for histological examination.
All these manipulations can be carried out with all the necessary equipment. It often happens that the cancer at the initial stage is not recognized due to incomplete examination. With the development of ultrasound diagnosis, this method was also used to detect cancer tumors.
Since cancer develops in the development of cancer, lymph nodes are also prescribed, and X-ray examination is also prescribed. In some cases, MRI, CT is prescribed.
All examinations are very important for establishing the correct diagnosis and prescribing adequate treatment, because if a woman has uterine cancer, life expectancy will depend on the effectiveness of the therapy.
A timely visit to the doctor will identify the disease at an early stage. This guarantees a high percentage of recovery.
Uterine cancer: symptoms and signs
Women throughout their lives need to monitor their health more closely, and after 40 years especially, because it is at this age that the risk of developing cancer increases. Eae and all diseases, has uterine cancer symptoms and signs, so you need to pay attention to all the deviations from the norm in the body's work. The whole trouble is that we are not rushing to run to the hospital, as soon as we notice suspicious symptoms. It is a pity that not only the quality of our life depends on it, but also its duration.
The majority of oncological diseases are dangerous and that they begin to show their signs only at later stages, therefore it often happens that when a person seeks help, there is nothing to help him.
It turns out that the cancer of the uterus body manifests itself in different ways during different periods of a woman's life. We will try to understand this.
Symptoms before menopause
If a woman is not yet at the menopause stage, then the following manifestations of the disease can be diagnosed:
- Periodical bloody discharge from the vagina.
- Monthly become less and less, then, on the contrary, they can come more often and abundantly.
- Pain sensations in the lower abdomen.
- Drawing back pain.
- Pain during sexual intercourse.
- Purulent discharge from the vagina.
- Frequent urge to urinate.
Symptoms during menopause
When a woman is in the menopause period, the months are completely stopped. At this time, the following symptoms should alert you:
- Any spotting.
- Sudden bleeding from the vagina.
- Drawing pain in the perineal region.
- Fast fatigue.
- Weight loss for no apparent reason.
If you find any of these symptoms in your body, then you should not expect that everything will go away by itself. This is quite an insidious disease - cancer of the uterus, photos confirm this.
There is cancer of the uterus in pregnant women, but this is rare. This is quite dangerous for a woman's life. In this case, if the diagnosis of "cancer of the uterus" is confirmed, the operation is unavoidable. I will have to stop the pregnancy and start treatment.
Stages of development of cancer of the uterus
Most often, any disease passes through certain stages, it can be said about a malignant tumor in the uterus. Oncologists distinguish such stages of cancer of the uterus:
- Zero. At this time, it is already possible to diagnose endometrial hyperplasia, which will necessarily lead to the development of malignant formation. It's only a matter of time, how quickly this will happen.
- The first stage. The tumor develops only in the body of the uterus itself, but the localization can be different:
- Cancer cells affect only the epithelial layer of cells.
- The tumor begins to penetrate the muscle layer.
- Carcinoma sprouts on half of the myometrium.
3. The second stage. Cancer begins to affect the cervix, but outside the body does not go. But there are also varieties:
- Only the glands of the cervix are involved in the process.
- The tumor affects the cervical stroma.
4. The third stage of the disease. Already goes beyond the body of the cancer of the uterus, photos confirm this, but again there are their divisions:
- Carcioma damages the serous membrane of the uterus and can pass to the ovaries.
- Metastases appear in the vagina.
- There are metastases in the nearby lymph nodes.
5. The fourth stage is the most serious. The tumor affects already the bladder, rectum. There are metastases outside the small pelvis.
When diagnosed with "cancer of the uterus" degree also there are different. This affects the prognosis of the course of the disease:
- High degree of differentiation.
- Moderate.
- Low.
Doctors note that the greater the degree of differentiation, the better the prognosis. Tumors with a low degree quickly metastasize and are characterized by increased growth.
If you are diagnosed with "cancer of the uterus," life expectancy will depend on the stage and extent of the disease.
Cancer of the cervix
Malignant tumor can begin its development not only in the uterine cavity, but also in the cervix, then they speak of cervical cancer. This disease also has its stages of development:
- The first stage. The tumor develops only in the cervix.
- Second. Has its own development options:
- Penetration into the parameters without transition to the pelvic wall.
- Vaginal variant, when the tumor touches its walls.
- The tumor develops endocervical. It can even affect the body of the uterus.
3. The third stage is also characterized by the presence of three options:
- There is infiltration of the pelvic wall from one or both sides.
- In the vaginal form, the tumor passes into the lower part of the vagina.
- Pelvic metastases appear.
4. The fourth stage. The following development options can be distinguished:
- The tumor passes to the bladder.
- Cancer cells affect the rectum.
- The tumor extends beyond the pelvic floor.
Different varieties of stages and variants of tumor development help doctors to give a clear idea of the methods of treatment and its effectiveness.
Treatment of cancer of the uterus
Now, given the level of development of medicine, it can be said that most of the oncological diseases are not a death sentence for the patient. But this is only if the person in a timely manner applies for medical help.
Treatment of malignant tumors is performed taking into account the stage of the disease, its localization. Most often the main methods are:
- Surgical intervention. Sometimes it is enough to remove the tumor at an early stage - and the woman is practically healthy.
- The use of radiotherapy. Subjected to irradiation of the pelvic area and the location of the presence of metastases. Use this method usually both before and after surgery. It reduces the likelihood of relapse.
- Chemotherapy. It allows not only to restrain tumor development, but also to significantly reduce the activity of cancer cells. Despite new methods of treatment, chemotherapy does not lose its relevance.
- Hormonal treatment. The use of synthetic progestogens can improve the effectiveness of treatment.
If treatment is started on time, then it is very likely that you will be able to defeat cervical cancer, photos show well the full life of women after the operation.
When a woman seeks medical help too late, the percentage of successful treatment is significantly reduced.
Prevention of
disease Only if you systematically visit a gynecologist's doctor and undergo an annual medical check-up, then you can be sure that the cancer will be detected at an early stage.
Once a woman begins to live sexually, she should make herself a rule to visit the gynecologist every year. Regular examination, examination of the smear, ultrasound of the pelvic organs can detect precancerous conditions. If they are treated in time, then it is possible to prevent the development of tumors.
This is how to prevent cervical cancer. The photos confirm that it is very easy to detect such pathologies if you regularly undergo an examination. It is impossible to recognize the disease on your own and prescribe drugs correctly, this should only be done by a doctor.
Most often, if inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs are not treated, then in time they can easily develop into cancer. Our health is only in our hands, and nobody except us will take care of it.
The effectiveness of treatment
The effectiveness of treatment of cancer tumors can be judged by repeated cases of the disease. Usually relapse occurs within the first three years after therapy. At many at the diagnosis "a cervical cancer" after operation the vital activity of an organism is normalized, the woman is restored and comes back to a habitual way of life.
If after the operation has passed more than three years, and you are all right, then you can with great confidence to ensure that a relapse you are unlikely.
Prognosis for cancer of the uterus
Give 100% guarantee that after the treatment the tumor will not bother you anymore, unfortunately. If the disease is detected in the first stages of its development, then about 90% of patients recover almost completely.
Given that the quality of the medical examination has now improved, much work is underway to detect the disease early, it can be ensured that the survival rate for the detection of cancer will increase.
Even if you have a third and fourth stage of uterine cancer, life expectancy, provided that you are literate, significantly increases. Survival can be improved by combining radiotherapy with chemotherapy.
If a woman seeks medical help, when metastases capture not only the uterus or neck, but also neighboring organs, the prognosis is not very comforting. In this case, it is much more difficult to work on cancer cells.
We can conclude that only on ourselves depends the quality and duration of our lives. Do not be afraid to go to polyclinics, the time the disease is found is treated much faster and more efficiently.