What Is Cervical Cancer? Cervical cancer happens when cells change in women’s cervix, which connects thier uterus with vagina. This cancer can affect the deeper tissues of their cervix and may spread to other parts of their body (metastasize), often the lungs, liver, bladder, vagina, and rectum
Cervical cancer is mostly caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. An HPV vaccine may reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Symptoms of cervical cancer can include painful sex, vaginal bleeding, and discharge.
Cancer can start any place in the body. Cervical cancer starts in the cervix. It starts when cells in the cervix grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. This makes it hard for the body to work the way it should.
Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells in the cervix can sometimes travel to the lung and grow there. When cancer cells do this, it’s called metastasis. To doctors, the cancer cells in the new place look just like the ones from the cervix.
Cancer is always named for the place where it starts. So when cervical cancer spreads to the lung (or any other place), it’s still called cervical cancer. It’s not called lung cancer unless it starts from cells in the lung.
If you have cervical cancer, the doctor will want to find out how far it has spread. This is called staging. You may have heard other people say that their cancer was “stage 1” or “stage 2.” Your doctor will want to find out the stage of your cancer to help decide what type of treatment is best for you.
The stage describes the growth or spread of the cancer through the cervix. It also tells if the cancer has spread to nearby organs or places farther away.
Your cancer can be stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. The lower the number, the less the cancer has spread. A higher number, like stage 4, means a more serious cancer that has spread outside the cervix. Be sure to ask the doctor about the cancer stage and what it means for you.
