Cervical cancer is among the five most common types of the disease in the female population and is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among Brazilian women.
According to the secretary of the Specialized Commission in Oncological Gynecology at Febrasgo, Jesus Paula Carvalho, this is the “main gynecological cancer.”
“In Brazil, we have around 16,000 patients a year,” he told CNN Radio, in the Medical Correspondent.
According to the gynecologist, the “important thing is that it is a cancer that affects young women, from 30 to 40 years old is where it most affects.”
Cause
The cause of cervical cancer is the “sexually acquired viral infection, Human Papillomavirus, or HPV.”
Treatment
A study pointed out that, in Brazil, 6 out of 10 women with cervical cancer wait more than 60 days to be able to start treatment.
“This period is rarely observed because of queues, overcrowding in hospitals and difficulty in accessing treatment for these patients,” said Jesus Paula.
In the case of cervical cancer, he points out, this is especially worrying because “it is a disease that develops over many years, in some patients this time can reach up to 10 years from infection.”
Symptoms
Precisely because it is a disease that develops slowly, the person can go “years without symptoms, but the disease is there.”
“It can be detected by Pap smears and HPV tests.”
According to the doctor, women usually seek the doctor when they already have symptoms, in an advanced stage, such as discharge and bleeding during intercourse.
Vaccine
Jesus de Paula Carvalho recalls that there is a vaccine against HPV, “which is highly effective and has been free and available in the SUS since 2014.”
It must be applied before the woman starts having sex, from 9 to 14 years old, with two doses: “This eliminates between 70 and 80% of the risk of cancer.”
Boys should also receive the vaccine, as they are vectors for transmission.
*Produced by Bruna Sales
Source: CNN Brasil
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