How long can you live with cervical cancer?

Under normal circumstances, patients with cervical cancer can survive for about 5 years. In the early stages of cervical cancer, it can be completely cured. However, if cancer cells spread in the middle and late stages, it cannot be cured and the patient’s life span will also be affected. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV infection. Patients need to cooperate with doctors for treatment and adjust their mentality to face the virus, which can greatly increase the patient's survival time.

1. How long can a person with cervical cancer usually live?

Factors that affect the survival of cervical cancer include: age of onset, histological type, stage, presence or absence of lymph node metastasis, depth and extent of tumor infiltration, and initial treatment method. Generally speaking, the prognosis of early cervical cancer is very good, with an overall 5-year survival rate of up to 90%. After 5 years, if the lifestyle is proper, most cases will not relapse, while the 5-year survival rate of advanced patients is less than 10%. Specifically by stage: the 5-year survival rate is about 85% for stage I, 60% for stage II, 30% for stage III, and less than 10% for stage IV.

2. Causes of cervical cancer

Viral infection

Persistent infection with high-risk HPV is the main risk factor for cervical cancer. More than 90% of cervical cancers are accompanied by high-risk HPV infection.

Sexual activity and birth frequency

Multiple sexual partners, first sexual intercourse before the age of 16, young age of first birth, and multiple pregnancies are closely related to the occurrence of cervical cancer.

Other biological factors

Infections with pathogens such as Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus type II, and Trichomonas have a synergistic effect in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer caused by high-risk HPV infection.

3. How to check for cervical cancer

Cervical smear cytology

It is the main method for cervical cancer screening and samples should be obtained from the cervical transformation zone.

Cervical iodine test

The normal squamous epithelium of the cervical vagina is rich in glycogen and appears brown or dark brown after staining with iodine solution. The unstained area indicates that the epithelium lacks glycogen and may have lesions. Taking biopsies from areas that do not stain with iodine can improve the diagnostic yield.

How to prevent cervical cancer

1. To prevent cervical cancer, we must first recognize the early symptoms of cervical cancer and detect and treat the disease as early as possible.

Abnormal vaginal bleeding. The most common type of bleeding is contact bleeding, which is bleeding due to contact with the cervix after sexual intercourse or after a gynecological examination. The amount of bleeding in the early stage is small, while the lesions in the late stage are larger, manifested as heavy bleeding. Some young patients may also experience prolonged menstruation, shortened cycle, increased menstrual flow, etc.

Increased vaginal discharge. It is white or bloody, thin like water or rice water, and has a fishy smell. In the late stage, due to secondary infection, there is a large amount of purulent or rice-soup-like foul-smelling leucorrhea.

2. Menopausal women who have abnormal menstruation or bleeding after sexual intercourse should be alert to the possibility of reproductive tract cancer and actively carry out cervical cancer screening.

3. Advocate late marriage and fewer children. If the man suffers from problems such as foreskin being too long, he should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible to avoid inducing cervical cancer in women. In addition, sexual life should be moderate. Too many sexual partners and too frequent sexual life can induce cervical cancer.

4. Prevent and treat cervical inflammatory diseases such as cervical erosion, polyps, condyloma and leukoplakia.

5. Avoiding smoking can prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer. Smoking increases the incidence of invasive cervical cancer, especially squamous cell carcinoma. Smokers have low vitamin C intake in their diet and an increased risk of cervical cancer. At the same time, long-term smoking can weaken the body's protective factors.

6. Have regular gynecological examinations and cervical TCT examinations. If abnormal cervical TCT is found, further treatment should be performed.

Cervical cancer risk

1. Lesions in multiple parts of the body: The harm of cervical cancer can directly lead to lower back and abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding and foul-smelling leucorrhea, which is the most direct manifestation. In addition, the differences in recurrence sites also lead to huge differences in details, such as lumps in the lower abdomen or pelvic wall, edema in the lower limbs, and cervical cancer patients may experience symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, pain, and hematuria. At the same time, coughing, chest tightness, and rectal bleeding will also be present.

2. Seriously affects physiological life: Because the uterus is located in the female abdomen, it is a hollow organ between the bladder and the rectum. Its function is to serve as a channel for menstrual outflow and a barrier for vaginal microorganisms and air to enter the female uterus. It can also resist the inflammatory response of cervical cancer caused by stimulation during sexual life. These are all harmful manifestations of cervical cancer.

3. Cause fatal damage to the uterus: The uterus is where the fertilized egg develops and grows. During the treatment process, cervical cancer patients sometimes have to have their uterus removed in order to save their lives due to various reasons.