Cervical Cancer

Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that 99.7% are caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) oncogenic, which attacks the cervix. This cancer can present with vaginal bleeding but symptoms of this cancer did not appear until the cancer is entering a stage further. In developing countries, widespread use of cervical surveillance program to reduce the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by 50% or more. Most studies have found that infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) is responsible for all cases of cervical cancer. Treatment includes surgery at an early stage, and chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy in end-stage disease.

One trace of HPV virus attacks is a wart. Warts are a pimple on the skin that looks bloated like cauliflower. HPV virus has many kinds (over 100 kinds), each of which is numbered to distinguish species from one another. 60 types of which cause skin warts are not dangerous. The rest is a mucosal HPV types, which only attacks the mucous membranes as found in the mouth of the esophagus, the tip of the penis, vagina, cervix, and rectum. Mucosal type is also called genital HPV, because the most frequently attacked are the genital area. Some cause warts on the vagina or penis, that is the HPV types 6 and 11, but this will not become cancerous.

Which can cause cancer is genital HPV types 16, 18, 31, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, and 58. More than 70% of cervical cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18. In addition to causing cervical cancer, HPV also can cause cancer of the anus, vagina, vulva, penis, and even esophageal cancer.

The virus is transmitted mainly through sexual intercourse, including anal sex, oral sex, and hand sex. Most of them are infected at age 15-30 years, i.e. within a period of four years after first sexual intercourse. People who are infected with genital HPV usually does not know he was infected, because these infections cause no symptoms at all (except that caused a warts), and the immune system immediately attacks the virus that is dead or weak - so it is not active.

Until now, human papilloma virus infection can not be cured, but a healthy immune system can cure 90% of them within 2 years. The rest remain active, or present but not active. Inactivated virus can still be infectious to other people, at times active again (if decreased immune system), or alter cervical cells become pre-cancerous cells, which many years later can become cancerous.

Cervical Cancer Prevention
The best way to prevent infection with human papilloma virus (also to prevent attacks of all kinds of other viruses) is to maintain the condition of the body to stay healthy and fit with a balanced lifestyle: prevent stress, avoid pollution, consumption of nutritious and balanced diet, adequate exercise, adequate rest .

In addition, the prevention of HPV virus can be done with vaccination programs. In developed countries, this type of cancer cases has begun to decline thanks to a program of early detection through pap smears. HPV vaccine will be given to women ages 10 to 55 years by injection three times, i.e. at month zero, one, and six. From research conducted, it is evident that the immune response to work two times higher in young women aged 10 to 14 years than those aged 15 to 25 years. Should vaccination be given to the girls who had never been sexual activity. People who have never committed a sexual activity are likely to have been infected with HPV. If the virus that infects is not type 6, 11, 16, and 18, then the vaccination is still useful.