Cervical cancer is regarded to be the leading cause of cancer among women. It mainly affects women from 35 to 44 years of age. Cervix is a portion of the female reproductive system. It is a narrow lower portion of the uterus that bridges between the uterus and the vagina, lined with columnar and squamous cells.

Cervical cancer mainly occurs in four distinct stages. In the first stage, the cancer is restricted to the cervix. In the second stage, the tumor enlarges to cover the upper part of the vagina and the cervix. It then proceeds to the third phase where cancerous cells invade the internal walls of the pelvis.

Causes of cervical cancer
The main cause of cervical cancer is an unrestricted proliferation of the cervical cells. The cancerous cells are immortal as they continue to divide, causing to incur detrimental effects. Some of the causes are given below:

• The main causative agent is the human papillomavirus. It is effective to get sexually transmitted. There are 100 different strains of HPV that cause the disease.
• Smoking is reported to increase the risk of having cervical cancer in women.
• Cervical cancer may be also caused if the individual is involved in early sexual intercourse.

Symptoms of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer may not be interlinked to show any signs during the initial periods. But the signs adverse as cancer progresses to become malignant. Some of the symptoms are:

• Blood in the vaginal smears or bleeding between menstrual periods.
• Many women suffering from cervical cancer have pain and discomfort during sexual coitus.
• There can be a pain in the pelvic region when cancer has progressed to the stage two.
• The vaginal discharge becomes smelly and frequent.
• Women who have reached menopause but are having heavy bleeding from the vagina may be categorized to suffer from cervical cancer.
• Some women may even find it difficult to urinate and it becomes a painful experience over years.

Treatment for cervical cancer
There are many treatment procedures that relieve the pain caused by cervical cancer. Early detection is always beneficial as it will give longevity to life. Some treatment methods for cervical cancer are as follows:

• The surgical way is the best for the initial sufferers. It generally removes the uterus. It is also carrying the disadvantage that the women can never become pregnant in the later phase of life. The medical term for this surgery is hysterectomy that can be either simple or radical.
• Simple hysterectomy is a minimally invasive surgery where the uterus and cervix get removed. Simple surgery is only effective if cancer is in an early stage.
• Radical is the one in which a part of the vagina, uterus, cervix, and lymph nodes are surgically removed. This totally uproots the cause of cancer.
• Radiation therapy is a method where the high-powered energy beam of protons and X-rays are made incident on the tumor cells. This can be subjected either externally or internally or both.
• Lastly is the chemotherapeutic way where the medication is directly incorporated into the circulatory system to inactivate the cancerous cells. High doses are also effective in controlling the advancement of cervical cancer.