Cervical cancer is responsible for 6.6% of female cancer deaths worldwide.
Cervical cancer occurs in the cervix cells due to the uncontrolled division and growth of abnormal cells. It results in excessive cell building up that forms a lump or tumor.
Some risk factors can increase your chance of getting cervical cancer. These include-
- HPV: Human Papillomavirus causes sexually transmitted diseases. There are more than 13 types of HPV that may cause cervical cancer. If you are infected with HPV, you are at risk of developing cervical cancer.
The two common types of HPV that cause cancer are HPV- 16 and HPV-18. If you are infected with this strain of HPV, you may or may not develop cervical cancer. It depends on how your immune system eliminates HPV infection.
- Having many sexual partners for becoming sexually active early in your life: Some studies show that women with many sexual partners are at higher risk of developing cervical cancer.
Having too many sexual partners increases your chance of getting infected with HPV, ultimately leading to a higher risk of cervical cancer.
- Smoking: Smoking is considered one of the risk factors for almost all types of cancers. If you are a smoker, it increases your chance of developing cervical cancer.
- Immunocompromised: if you are a person who has undergone a transplant or suffering from an immunocompromised disease like AIDS HIV, it increases the chances of developing cervical cancer.
- Birth control pills: It is seen that the use of common contraceptive pills for an extended period increases the risk of cervical cancer.
- Other sexually transmitted diseases: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis are some of the STDs that increase your risk of developing cervical cancer.
- Socioeconomic status: Usually, cervical cancer is seen in people with low economic conditions.
- Some drugs are responsible for a higher risk of developing cervical cancer, like DES (diethylstilbestrol). If your mother took this drug during her pregnancy to prevent miscarriage, you might have an increased risk of developing cervical cancer.
How can you prevent cervical cancer?
Prevent cervical cancer by following some measures like:
- HPV vaccine: The link between HPV and cervical cancer is clear. If you get HPV vaccination, this may reduce your chance of developing cervical cancer.
- Safe sex: While HPV vaccination prevents cervical cancer only from two strains, other stains can still cause cervical cancer. Using condoms during sexual intercourse can prevent HPV infection.
- Cervical screening: Several tests are available these days that help detect cervical cancer in the early-stage or precancerous stage.
- Stop smoking: If you stop smoking, you may decrease your chance of developing cervical cancer.
- Having fewer sexual partners: If you have more sexual partners, it increases your risk of transmitting the HPV virus.
- Delaying first sexual intercourse: The longer you delay first sexual intercourse, the lower is the risk of getting HPV infection and thus cervical cancer.
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