Cervical Cancer During Pregnancy
Published on Apr 24 2010, in the categories: Pregnancy issues
As we know, the cervical cancer is the development of abnormal cells in the cervix area. The cervix is the opening of the uterus that communicates with the vagina. This disease has a long term development and symptoms of the cancer may appear only in the terminal stages of the disease. But, in some cases the development of the cervical cancer may happen in less then 12 months. Cancer is a disordered and unpredictable development of abnormal cells. If the cervical cancer is diagnosed in early stages then it may be treated with real chances of curing, but if the cervical cancer is diagnosed in terminal stages the chances of curing decrease.
When a woman is pregnant, and when an abnormal Pap smear test is obtained the evaluation is modified. In general the pregnancy and the cervical cancer problem have no effect one to another. But, in the same time, during the first trimester of the pregnancy the cervix should not be manipulated or to have done a biopsy, because the risk of a miscarriage is about 20%. In some cases, even if the biopsy had been taken and the unfortunate miscarriage happened, the biopsy might not been the cause of the miscarriage.
During the pregnancy, there is no urgency to diagnose a pre cancerous or first stage condition, but is imperative to exclude or diagnose an invasive cancer. This diagnosis may be obtained through a procedure that will exclude biopsy, called colposcopic examination. The premalignant condition may wait to be treated until 6 weeks after the birth of the baby, but in some cases the biopsy must be done, so this intervention may be done in the early second trimester because is the proper period for eliminating the risk of a miscarriage. If the invasive cervical cancer is diagnosed during the pregnancy, the treatment is the same as for the cervical cancer patients who aren’t pregnant. Except the fact that, the treatment should be delayed until the baby is proper developed, all his organs are developed and functional and the woman may deliver the baby. This happens usually in the 32 and 36 pregnancy weeks. Cervical cancer diagnosed during the pregnancy is represented by rare cases. Sometimes doctors have a difficult task because there aren’t very much information regarding the delaying of the treatment for the cervical cancer.
In the end the final decision concerning starting the treatment or not during the pregnancy is yours, but first it is best that you have opinions from different specialist doctors. The best plan to prevent this situation, to be pregnant and in the same time to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, no matter its stage, could be prevented by taking the Pap smear test at least once a year. And before you get pregnant both future parents should do a full range of medical analysis, in order to prevent unfortunate things. The specialists say that during the pregnancy the cancerous cells located into the cervix are no more aggressive than to the women who aren’t pregnant.
When a woman is pregnant, and when an abnormal Pap smear test is obtained the evaluation is modified. In general the pregnancy and the cervical cancer problem have no effect one to another. But, in the same time, during the first trimester of the pregnancy the cervix should not be manipulated or to have done a biopsy, because the risk of a miscarriage is about 20%. In some cases, even if the biopsy had been taken and the unfortunate miscarriage happened, the biopsy might not been the cause of the miscarriage.
During the pregnancy, there is no urgency to diagnose a pre cancerous or first stage condition, but is imperative to exclude or diagnose an invasive cancer. This diagnosis may be obtained through a procedure that will exclude biopsy, called colposcopic examination. The premalignant condition may wait to be treated until 6 weeks after the birth of the baby, but in some cases the biopsy must be done, so this intervention may be done in the early second trimester because is the proper period for eliminating the risk of a miscarriage. If the invasive cervical cancer is diagnosed during the pregnancy, the treatment is the same as for the cervical cancer patients who aren’t pregnant. Except the fact that, the treatment should be delayed until the baby is proper developed, all his organs are developed and functional and the woman may deliver the baby. This happens usually in the 32 and 36 pregnancy weeks. Cervical cancer diagnosed during the pregnancy is represented by rare cases. Sometimes doctors have a difficult task because there aren’t very much information regarding the delaying of the treatment for the cervical cancer.
In the end the final decision concerning starting the treatment or not during the pregnancy is yours, but first it is best that you have opinions from different specialist doctors. The best plan to prevent this situation, to be pregnant and in the same time to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, no matter its stage, could be prevented by taking the Pap smear test at least once a year. And before you get pregnant both future parents should do a full range of medical analysis, in order to prevent unfortunate things. The specialists say that during the pregnancy the cancerous cells located into the cervix are no more aggressive than to the women who aren’t pregnant.
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