Gynaecologic Cancers: Types & Risks
by Premier Hospitals | August 9, 2018 |
If you have been following news, then you would know that Sonali Bendre has been diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly, news articles educating people about the different types of cancer, their symptoms and treatment options.
Cancer awareness is on the rise, but still hasn’t reached the stage that’s ideal. This is especially true in case of women, who practically have no time to focus on themselves because of multiple things they juggle in their daily lives.
On that note, we wish to create awareness among our readers and patients on the types of cancers, our department of gynaecology deals with.
We chose gynaecology, because typically, Indian women chose to overlook their health and the signs their body shows them. They prefer taking care of their family than to even go and get a routine check up done. Now with progressing times, the practice of annual check ups are developing in Indian families, which is why this blog, to help you understand the possibilities of what your mother, wife, or sister could suffer from, if went unnoticed and untreated.
Gynaecologic Cancer
An uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that originate from the reproductive organs is known as gynaecologic cancer. Gynaecologic cancers include cervical, ovarian, uterine/endometrial, vaginal and vulvar cancers. It is important to understand that every woman is at a risk of developing a gynaecologic cancer. Given below are the descriptions of the causes and types of gynaecologic cancers,- Cervical Cancer:Your cervix has two main types of cells: squamous and glandular cells, when they face abnormal changes, they are likely to result in cervical cancer. Cervical cancers are majorly caused by a persistent infection caused by a virus called Human Papillomavirus (HPV), for which people are given a vaccine.
- Ovarian Cancer: There can be three types of ovarian cancers, epithelial ovarian cancer, germ cell cancer and stromal cell cancer. Of these, epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common accounting for close to 80-90% of ovarian cancers is the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths among women.
- Uterine/Endometrial Cancer: The use of estrogen without progesterone, diabetes, hypertension, tamoxifen use and later age of Menopause can be the risk factors responsible for this kind of cancer. Obesity is the leading cause of this cancer because obese women have higher circulating levels of estrogen that increases their risk for uterine/endometrial cancer.
- Vaginal Cancer: One of the rarest types of gynecologic cancers that usually affects women of 50-70 years of age. Vaginal cancer can be prevented by vaccinating women and young girls for HPV before they are sexually active.
- Vulvar Cancer: another rare, abnormal growth on the external female genitalia, vulvar cancer typically occurs  in elderly women and can be cured as  it is detected at an early stage. Â
