Unfortunately, the number of oncological diseases is only growing every year. In women, one of the leading places is cancer of the uterus. Life expectancy has now increased, in the female half of the population a longer period of menopause, it is with this that doctors attribute the increase in morbidity. The risk group most often includes women 40-60 years old.
What is uterine cancer?
The uterus in women, like any other organ, has a three-layer structure. Internal - epithelial tissue, middle - smooth muscle and external - connective. In the process of the development of the disease, a tumor forms on the walls of the uterus, and then, if no treatment is taken, it will begin to spread throughout the body.
Due to the multilayer structure of the uterus, the tumor is of various types and differs in the location.
Causes of the disease
Doctors concluded that, to a greater extent, cancer of the uterine body begins to develop if this organ has been repeatedly exposed to many factors, among which I especially want to highlight the following:
- Frequent abortions and breaks during childbirth.
- Inflammatory processes, especially of a chronic nature.
- Dystrophic and degenerative changes in the epithelial tissue that can occur as a result of hormonal exposure.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The presence in the body of the human papillomavirus or genital herpes.
- Long-term use of hormonal contraceptives.
- The early onset of sexual activity, that is, up to 18 years.
- The presence of a large number of sexual partners.
- The presence of bad habits, especially smoking.
- Non-observance of personal hygiene.
Despite the fact that there are many reasons that can provoke uterine cancer, life expectancy with such a diagnosis will depend on many factors. If you see a doctor in time, then this disease can be completely dealt with.
Diagnosis of the disease
Making any diagnosis begins with a conversation between the doctor and the patient. A woman must be examined by a gynecologist, without a thorough examination, there can be no talk of any treatment and diagnosis.
The examination begins with an examination of the vagina, cervix using gynecological mirrors. If there is a disease, it is usually possible to detect changes in the tissues. Often, a small bleeding may begin during the examination, as the tumor is injured.
If required, a rectal examination may be prescribed to determine how much the cancer cells have affected the pelvic walls.
In order to detect a cancerous tumor at an early stage, it is necessary to conduct a smear analysis and biopsy. If there is a suspicion of cancer of the cervical canal, then curettage is carried out and sent for histological examination.
All these manipulations can be carried out with all the necessary equipment. It often happens that cancer at the initial stage is not recognized due to incomplete examination. With the development of ultrasound diagnostics, this method was also used to detect cancerous tumors.
Since damage to the lymph nodes occurs with the development of cancer, an X-ray examination is also prescribed. In some cases, an MRI, CT scan 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 therapy.
A timely visit to the doctor will help to identify the disease at an early stage. This guarantees a high percentage of cure.
Uterine cancer: symptoms and signs
Throughout their entire lives, women need to monitor their health more carefully, and after 40, even more so, because it is at this age that the risk of developing cancer increases. Eae and all diseases, there are symptoms and signs of uterine cancer, so you need to pay attention to all deviations from the norm in the body. The trouble is that we are not in a hurry to run to the hospital as soon as we notice suspicious symptoms. It is a pity, not only the quality of our life, but also its duration completely depends on this.
Most oncological diseases are dangerous because they begin to show their symptoms only at later stages, so it often happens that when a person seeks help, nothing can help him.
It turns out that cancer of the uterine body manifests itself differently in different periods of a woman's life. We will try to figure this out.
Signs Before Menopause
If a woman is not yet at the stage of menopause, then the following manifestations of this disease can be diagnosed:
- Periodic spotting from the vagina.
- Menstruation is becoming more rare and scarce, it can, on the contrary, come more often and plentifully.
- Pain in the lower abdomen.
- Drawing pains in the lower back.
- Pain during sexual intercourse.
- Purulent vaginal discharge.
- Frequent urination.
Symptoms during menopause
When a woman is in the period of menopause, then her periods completely stop. At this time, the following symptoms should alert you:
- Any spotting.
- Sudden bleeding from the vagina.
- Drawing pain in the perineum.
- Fast fatiguability.
- Weight loss for no apparent reason.
If you find yourself with any of these symptoms, then you should not hope that everything will go away by itself. This is a rather insidious disease - uterine cancer, photos confirm this.
Cancer of the uterus is also found in pregnant women, but this is rare. This is quite dangerous for a woman's life. In this case, if the diagnosis of uterine cancer is confirmed, surgery is inevitable. Have to terminate the pregnancy and do the treatment.
Uterine Cancer Stages
Most often, any disease goes through certain stages, this can be said about a malignant tumor in the uterus. Oncologists distinguish such stages of uterine cancer:
- Zero At this time, it is already possible to diagnose endometrial hyperplasia, which will necessarily lead to the development of a malignant formation. It is only a matter of time how quickly this will happen.
- First stage. A tumor develops only in the body of the uterus itself, but localization can be different:
- Cancer cells affect only the epithelial layer of cells.
- The tumor begins to penetrate the muscle layer.
- Carcinoma germinates half the myometrium.
3. The second stage. Cancer begins to affect the cervix, but does not go beyond the organ. But there are also varieties:
- Only the cervical glands are involved in the process.
- The tumor affects the stroma of the cervix.
4. The third stage of the disease. The cancer of the uterus already goes beyond the limits of the organ, the photos confirm this, but again there are their units:
- A carcinoma damages the serous membrane of the uterus and can pass to the ovaries.
- There are metastases in the vagina.
- Metastases occur in nearby lymph nodes.
5. The fourth stage is the most serious. The tumor already affects the bladder, the rectum. Metastases appear outside the pelvic area.
With a diagnosis of uterine cancer, the degrees are also different. This affects the prognosis of the course of the disease:
- High degree of differentiation.
- Moderate.
- Low
Doctors say that the greater the degree of differentiation, the better the prognosis. Tumors with a low degree quickly metastasize and are characterized by enhanced growth.
If you are diagnosed with uterine cancer, life expectancy will depend on the stage and degree of development of the disease.
Cervical cancer
A malignant tumor can begin to develop not only in the uterine cavity, but also in the cervix, then they talk about cervical cancer. This disease also has its stages of development:
- First stage. A tumor develops only in the cervix.
- The second one. It has its own development options:
- Penetration into the parametrium without transition to the walls of the pelvis.
- The vaginal variant, when a tumor affects 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 an infiltration of the wall of the pelvis from one or two sides.
- With the vaginal version, 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 pelvis.
Different types of stages and tumor development options help doctors give a clear idea of the treatment methods and its effectiveness.
Uterine Cancer Treatment
Currently, taking into account the level of development of medicine, we can say that most oncological diseases are not a death sentence for a patient. But this is only if a person promptly seeks medical help.
Treatment of malignant tumors is carried out 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 almost healthy.
- The use of radiation therapy. Are exposed to the pelvic zone and the presence of metastases. This method is usually used both before the operation and after it. It reduces the likelihood of relapse.
- Chemotherapy. It allows not only to restrain the development of the tumor, but also significantly reduce the activity of cancer cells. Despite the new methods of treatment, chemotherapy does not lose its relevance.
- Hormone treatment. The use of synthetic progestogens improves the effectiveness of treatment.
If treatment is started on time, then it is highly likely that you will be able to defeat cervical cancer, photos well demonstrate the full life of women after surgery.
In the case when a woman seeks medical help too late, the percentage of treatment success is significantly reduced.
Disease prevention
Only if you systematically visit a gynecologist and undergo an annual physical examination, then you can be sure that the cancer will be detected at an early stage.
As soon as a woman begins to live sexually, she should make it a rule to visit a gynecologist every year. Regular examination, smear examination, ultrasound of the pelvic organs allow you to identify precancerous conditions. If you treat them on time, then you can prevent the development of tumors.
This can prevent cervical cancer. The photos confirm that it is very easy to identify such pathologies if you regularly undergo an examination. It is impossible to independently recognize the disease and correctly prescribe medications for yourself, only a doctor should do this.
Most often, if inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs are not treated, then over time they can easily develop into oncological ones. Our health is only in our hands, and no one but ourselves will take care of it.
Treatment effectiveness
The effectiveness of the treatment of cancerous tumors can be judged by repeated cases of the disease. Relapse usually occurs in the first three years after therapy. Many with a diagnosis of cervical cancer after surgery normalize the vital activity of the body, the woman recovers and returns to her usual way of life.
If more than three years have passed after the operation, and everything is fine with you, then you can guarantee with great confidence that your relapse is unlikely.
Uterine Cancer Prognosis
Give a 100% guarantee that after the treatment, the tumor will no longer bother you, unfortunately, it is impossible. If the disease is detected at the first stages of its development, then about 90% of patients recover almost completely.
Considering that the quality of medical examinations has now improved, a lot of work is being done on the early detection of the disease, we can guarantee that the survival rate for cancer detection will increase further.
Even if you have uterine cancer of the third and fourth stage, life expectancy with the right treatment is significantly increased. Survival can be enhanced by combining radiation with chemotherapy.
If a woman seeks medical help when metastases capture not only the uterus or cervix, but also neighboring organs, then the prognosis is not very comforting. In this case, it is much more difficult to affect cancer cells.
We can conclude that the quality and duration of our lives depend only on ourselves. Do not be afraid to visit polyclinics, the detected disease in time is treated much faster and more efficiently.