What is cervical cancer? Cervical cancer is a disease in which the cells situated in the ectocervix develop excessively at an abnormal rate. This cancer type is the third most experienced by women after colorectal and breast cancer. In the world of women's health, the organ of the cervix plays a critical role in ensuring overall well-being. Nonetheless, there are myths and confusions that give a huge impact towards cervical health as a whole. Hence, this article will debunk those myths and raise awareness towards cervical health for you.
1. Cervical cancer can be inherited
A lot of people still assume that cervical cancer can be inherited and hereditary. This stigmatised myth may be based on rumours or stories that linger in the women’s community, leading to worry if their descendants have any cervical cancer history.
Cervical cancer is caused by Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, hence it is not a hereditary cancer like breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
2. Cervical check-up should be done every year
If your HPV screening and pap smear test results are normal, you don’t have to go through check-ups every year. HPV screening is a process of detecting HPV virus while pap smear is a test to detect any precancer or cancer symptoms on the cervix. Experts advised to follow age guidelines to undergo cervical check-ups such as follows:
● 21 years old until 29 years old: Pap smear test every 3 years.
● 30 years old until 64 years old: HPV Screening and pap smear every 5 years.
● 65 years old and above: Refer to your doctor to know if HPV screening or pap smear is necessary for you.
3. No need for check-ups if there are no signs
No signs doesn’t mean that you are free from any signs that occur in your body. The reason behind doing screening or check-up is to detect any abnormalities in your body, and diagnosis are only given if there are symptoms relating to cervical cancer. This is due to women who have cervical cancer often do not have any symptoms, so it is important for you to go through a cervical cancer screening.
As the proverb goes, prevention is better than cure, and with cervical cancer check-ups, you may learn about the causes of cervical cancer and if there are no cervical cancer risks, your doctor will give out advice on how to prevent cervical cancer to you.
3. It's impossible to get pregnant if diagnosed with cervical cancer
Cervical cancer often raises doubts about a person’s ability to conceive. Curing cervical cancer consists of hysterectomy, chemotherapy or radiation and these treatments are not the cause of a woman’s infertility.
There are alternatives to allow someone to be conceived even though cervical cancer is detected in the ectocervix and still in the early stages with low risk, that is conservative surgery that aims to preserve fertility. In addition, freezing eggs is also one of the ways to preserve them from being affected by radiation.
Cervical health is not just a personal issue, but also an important aspect in the development of society's well-being as a whole. Make sure that you and your daughters take the free cervical cancer vaccine and always be aware of the ways on how to prevent cervical cancer. Through a deeper understanding and the debunking of myths, we can open the door to more effective prevention, screening measures and use suitable takaful protection so that you will not be in the shackles of costs of curing and caring.
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