Cancer

Many women do not take breast cancer or cervical cancer serious, by getting screened, until the disease has begun to develop or has spread. Cervical cancer use to be the main cause of deaths caused by cancer for women, but over the past forty or fifty years, the number of cases of cervical cancer and the number of deaths from this disease has decreased significantly, leaving another horrible disease in its place. Now breast cancer is the second major cause of cancer deaths in women.

The majority of women know more about breast cancer, but women are not the only people who should know about it. Breast cancer is malignant or benign tumors inside of the breast tissue that is caused by an out of control growth in cells. Cervical cancer is when abnormal cell on the cervix grow out of control. Cervical cancer can start in females very early, so it is very important that females learn more than they do about this horrible disease. Everyone needs to know the risk factors, the symptoms, and prevention methods where hiv originated.

Knowing these facts can save your life or the life of a loved one. First, we need to know if we are at risk for breast cancer or cervical cancer. Knowing if you are at risk, can help determine what actions you need to take for yourself. If you do have any risk factors, it is not guaranteed that you will get cancer. It means that you need to be aware. Breast cancer can be diagnosed not only in women, but also in men as well. In women, there are so many things that can put you at risk. Some of those risk factors include genetics, race and ethnicity, family history, and age.

Other risk factors are starting your menstrual cycle at a young age, starting menopause at a later age, having a child at a late age, never having children, if you do not breastfeed, and continual use of hormone replacement therapy. Risk factors in some men are family history, obesity, aging, inherited gene mutation, radiation, liver disease, alcohol, and certain occupations. Women who may be sexual active are more at risk for cervical cancer. HPV, human papillomavirus, is a sexual transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer.

Other risk factors for this disease are smoking, having HIV, using birth control pill for a long time, and giving birth to three or more children. Another high risk factor that can cause this disease is when you have more than one sexual partner. Next, the symptoms of breast cancer and cervical cancer are very important and should be known. Abnormal changes to different cells in the breast and cervix can cause problems, even though no symptoms may show. Knowing the symptoms of breast cancer and cervical cancer can help you to take precautions so that you can be seen by your doctor as soon as possible.

Some symptoms involved with breast cancer include lumps in the breast, swelling in the armpit, pain in the breast, and changes in the nipples. Usually, no symptoms are shown in the beginning stages of breast cancer. Once the symptoms are noticed, you should be seen by a doctor as soon as possible. Symptoms involved with cervical cancer may include vaginal bleeding that is not normal, changes in your menstrual cycle that can be unexplained, bleeding after sex, and pain during sex.

These symptoms can also lead to an advanced cervical cancer, if they are not treated. Symptoms of advanced cervical cancer are anemia, ongoing pelvic pain, weight loss, and urinary problems. Last, we need to know how we can prevent these diseases from taking over our lives. When we are aware of the symptoms for these diseases, we can help someone catch and treat it in time. If breast cancer is detected early, it can be treated early. Some methods you can take to keep informed or to catch breast cancer early are mammograms, breast self-exam, and clinical exams.

Mammograms, which are x-rays of the breast, are the best method to detect breast cancer and women age 40 or older should get one done every year. A clinical exam is when you let the doctor or nurse perform the exam, where they would feel for any lumps or any changes. If you are under the age of 40, the doctors recommend that you should do a monthly self-exam. A breast self-exam is when you check your own breast for any changes or lumps in the breast or in the armpit. Most women do not know how to give themselves a self-breast exam, but you can ask your doctor to teach you how to do it and what to look for.

You can reduce the risk of cervical cancer and abnormal cell changes with certain methods. Women should begin getting a regular PAP test done when they are 21 and get it done every one to three years. A Pap test or Pap smear is a screening method that looks for cell changes on the cervix that can lead to cervical cancer. Females should get a HPV vaccine. The human papillomavirus test is another screening method that can be done to look for the virus that causes the cell changes. The human papillomavirus is the main cause of cervical cancer.

Young females should learn about this early because when they become sexually active, they open the door for this virus that will and can cause cervical cancer. In conclusion, we all need to know the importance of these diseases, know who is at risk, the symptoms, and how to prevent them. Knowing this information, can make a big difference in how our life could be saved. If both breast cancer and cervical cancer are detected early, you do have the best possibility of having them treated. Most people do not know much information about breast cancer or cervical cancer.

The more information that we know, we can share it with others who do not know. Even though breast cancer and cervical cancer happens in women, men can still get breast cancer, and they should still know all these important facts as well. Writing this essay has taught me more than I know and I hope that everyone can gain knowledge from this essay. Talk to others about this important information and make sure that your loved ones get the proper screenings and tests that can save their life.