The ‘silent’ cervical cancer symptom you can feel in your back – and 8 other signs
Every day OVER two women die from cervical cancer in England.
However, the aggressive disease can usually be cured if detected early.
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Detect and treat it at its earliest stage — Stage 1 — and you have a 91 percent chance of survival.
However, if you are diagnosed in stage four, your chance of survival for five years or more is reduced to only 5%.
That’s why it’s absolutely critical that you know what changes to look out for and have them tested as soon as you see them.
Around 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK each year, according to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust.
It is the most common form of the disease in women under the age of 35.
A common symptom of the disease is lower back pain, says the NHS.
This may be due to where the tumor is growing and what it is putting pressure on
The 8 other common symptoms include:
- heavier periods
- Changes in your vaginal discharge
- Unusual vaginal bleeding
- bleeding between your periods
- bleeding during/after sex
- bleeding after menopause
- pain during sex
- pain in the pelvis
It should be borne in mind that lower back pain is not a definite sign of the condition, but merely a possible indicator.
Nonetheless, it should be checked out by your GP as soon as possible.
Usually, the disease is caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infections transmitted through sex.
Fortunately, most young women in the UK are now vaccinated, but boys are not.
In the UK, women aged 25 to 64 are offered free cervical exams, or swab tests, which look for HPV at the cervix – the entrance to the uterus from the vagina.
By detecting and removing these cells, cervical cancer can be prevented. It is not a test for cervical cancer itself.
According to Cancer Research UK, swab testing saves around 2,000 lives every year.
HPV has also been linked to an increase in the deadly throat cancer called oropharyngeal cancer.
Many of us who contract HPV have no symptoms.
However, sometimes genital warts, which are small, noncancerous lumps in or around your vagina, penis, or anus, can occur.
Most of us contract HPV infections and are able to clear them completely.
However, a few people are unable to get rid of the infection, which may be due to a defect in a certain area of their immune system.
You cannot completely protect yourself from HPV, but condoms can offer some protection.
The HPV vaccine will protect you against most types of virus, but not all