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Breast cancer is not the only disease affecting women everywhere. January is the month of awareness of cervical health. Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that affects women, most often diagnosed between 35 and 44 years.American Cancer Society, about 13,170 new cases of invasive cervical cancer are diagnosed each year and 4,250 people will lose their lives of the disease that comes from the cervix, which connects the vagina to the upper part of the uterus.

The good news is that cervical pre-cancer is diagnosed a lot more than cancer itself, thanks to the advances in screening methods - and what is the habit of being theCause of death for womenIn the United States is no longer in the first three.

Here's all you need to know about cervical cancer.

How do you get cervical cancer?

Almost all cases of cervical cancer arecaused by human papillomavirus (HPV)-A common virus that can be transmitted from one person to another during sex. Like HPV cases decreased, due to HPV vaccination and screening methods have improved, due to smear, cervical cancer cases have radically decreased.

As cervical cancer is caused by HPV, virus detection is essential in preventing the disease. "The majority of HPV infections are transient; however, if it is not erased by your immune system, HPV can reproduce and cause cellular damage leading to precancerous or cancerous lesions," explainsAngel Lightner, do,Resident doctor OB / GYN.

It explains that risk factors for cervical cancer include:

• Early appendix of the first sexual activity
• Several sexual partners
• A story of other sexually transmitted infections
• Low socio-economic status with limited Pap screening
• and immunosuppression such as HIV or women with organ transplants.

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Signs and symptoms

The unfortunate thing about cervical cancer is that there are very few early signs or reliable symptoms, according toSteve Vasilev ®, a gynecological oncologist and medical director of integrative gynecological oncology at Providence Saint John's Health Center and professor at John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, in Ca.

"When abnormal bleeding or discharges occur, it is often already associated with significant cervical cancer," he explains. "If the pain is present, it can mean even bigger cancer."

Monique May, MD, adds that bleeding or unusual spots as a result of uterine cancer will often be noticed after sex. Pain can also occur. "These symptoms are caused by more fragile abnormal cells or are what we call" friable ", which means they bleed very easily with normal healthy tissues," she says.

Dr Vazilev stresses, however, that some early cancers may be pre-cancers (called dysplasia) can also bleed or produce these symptoms.

RELATED: Symptoms that can actually be cancer.

The importance of projection

Given the lack of clear early panels, and because existing symptoms can often be often observed with other gynecological conditions, the best way to identify cervical cancer is to go through routine screening, benchmarks.Sangini S. Sheth, MD, MPH, a medicine of Yale OB / GYN. "The vast majority of uterine cancer can be prevented with adequate screening that can help detect pre-cancer," she says. "When detected, the uterine pre-cancers can be successfully treated before developing in cervical cancer."

Screening for smear and Routine HPV is the best way to do it - and be checked earlier than later is vital.

"The reason for the screening of the PAP and HPV test is to detect the pre-cancer of the uterine collar before it becomes necessary to treat with a hysterectomy," explains Dr. Vasilev. "Because the symptoms are often absent with early pre-cancers, screening on a regular basis is extremely important."

How to reduce your risk of cervical cancer

Dr. Lightner suggests the following to reduce your risk of cervical cancer:

• See your gynecologist every year for a routine pelvic examination
• Get your PAPS! Screening of Pap smear generally starts at age 21 and is completed every three years for women aged 21 to 29 and every five years with 30-year-old HPV tests
• Condom use
• Receive the HPV vaccine series, men and women! Countries with higher rates of individuals vaccinated by HPV have observed a significant decrease in cancer-causing HPV viral infections.

Treatment and prognosis

TheAmerican Cancer SocietyExplains that the treatment of cervical cancer depends on the scene. For the first steps of cervical cancer, when cancer is located in the collar, surgery or radiation associated with chemotherapy can be used. For subsequent stages, primary treatment is often associated with chemotherapy. The chemo (by itself) is commonly used to treat advanced uterine cancer.

According to Nih The 5-year survival rate of uterine cancer is 65.8%. And live your happiest and healthiest life, do not miss these 30 things that the oncologists do to prevent cancer .