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How Does Cervical Cancer Differ From Other Gynecological Cancers?

What are the ways that cervical cancer varies from gynecological cancers? Expert Dr. Shannon MacLaughlan from University of Illinois discusses the cervix versus uterus, cervical cancer causes and risk factors, and proactive patient advice.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…don’t consider yourself a statistic. People have been cured. People have been treated successfully and gone on to lead very productive, healthy lives. And right now, you should assume that you’re that person.”

 

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Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Dr. MacLaughlan, as a baseline, what is cervical cancer, and how does it differ from other gynecological cancers, and is it curable?

Shannon MacLaughlan:

Thank you, Lisa, for the opportunity to explain this. I want to first explain what a cervix is and why it gets cancer. The cervix is the outlet of the uterus and the uterus is the womb. So most commonly, folks know about the cervix when they’re thinking about the labor process. The cervix is what has to dilate for the baby to be delivered. So it sits at the top of the vagina. The cervix, in order to do its function, it is constantly changing. Each time there is a monthly cycle, it changes in composition, it changes in cell types, it changes in products that it makes, and it’s built to be able to remodel itself constantly.

And all of that change is an opportunity for mutation, and mutations are opportunities for cancers. Cervical cancer specifically is caused by the HPV virus. There are lots of different kinds of the HPV virus, but there are a handful that cause cancers. And when those HPV viruses get exposed to the cervix through the vagina, then they can cause specific mutations that can lead to cancer. Now, most often, a person’s immune system will fight off that virus and fight off the virus’s cellular changes that it causes that can lead to cancer.

But if someone’s immune system isn’t working perfectly, or if there are other things going on, for example, smoking is a big risk factor for developing cervical cancer because it impacts the immune system, then over time, that HPV infection can turn into a cervical cancer. Now, it’s different from other gynecologic cancers because it’s caused by a virus, and that makes it preventable in some ways with vaccines and screening programs, unlike the other gynecologic cancers, which just to review, gynecologic cancers are cancers of female reproductive parts, uterus, cervix, fallopian tube, ovary, vulva, vagina.

And for the purposes of discussing cervical cancer, the cervix is its own organ. Now, any cancer, when diagnosed early, has a chance, a cure that’s much higher than if the cancer is diagnosed in more advanced stages. But if I have to answer curable in a yes or no format, then I’d say yes. Depending on the stage of diagnosis,  it may not be the statistically most common outcome for it to be cured, but human beings are not statistics. And my [ACT]IVATION tip for this topic would be, don’t consider yourself a statistic. People have been cured. People have been treated successfully and gone on to lead very productive, healthy lives. And right now, you should assume that you’re that person.

Lisa Hatfield:

Thank you. I love that [ACT]IVATION tip. 


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