Affected Population, Predisposing Factors & Treatment of Cervical Cancer (Essay Sample)

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Cervical Cancer
Cancers result from abnormal cells that rapidly divide to disrupt the metabolism of normal body cells and cause serious health effects. These cells can spread to other body tissues over time, a phenomenon referred to as metastasis. One of the common causes is cervical cancers that predominantly affect women. Cervical cancer should be the center of cancer studies due to its increasing prevalence, thus discussing the affected population, the predisposing factors, detection, current and future treatments with improved outcomes.
Firstly, cervical cancer refers to a malignancy that affects the cells lining the female cervix. It is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) (Powers et al. slide 10). Several strains of HPV cause cervical cancers. Women acquire these viral strains during sexual intercourse, and HPV infections are sexually transmitted diseases. Among the women, the most affected age group lies within the range of 35 to 44 years, with little prevalence in younger females ("Key Statistics for Cervical Cancer" par. 3). This lot usually overlook the importance of frequent screening. The main predisposing factor remains to have multiple sexual partners, which increases the possibility of exposure to various HPV strains. Therefore, abstinence, use of protection during intercourse, or sticking to one partner may significantly reduce a woman's chance of getting cervical cancer (Powers et al. slide 16). It is essential to note that HPV transmission occurs even from seemingly healthy individuals with no symptoms of HPV infections but who may be HPV carriers. Sexually active females need to regularly screen for cervical cancers and subsequent HPV testing.
Consequently, the detection criteria are through pap smear screening and HPV test. Cervical cancer fatalities can reduce through early pap smear that detects cell morphological changes in the early stages of cancer ("Key Statistics for Cervical Cancer" par. 2). This test can rely on further confirmation by the HPV test currently approved as an alternative detection method. This test assesses the presence of infections caused by virulent strains of HPV to affirm their existence. The viral invasion into the cells lining the cervix causes mutations leading to cancer cell formation (Powers et al. slide 16). Therefore, ascertaining the presence of HPV infections will corroborate pap smear results to cement a cancer diagnosis. Generally, all suspected cases after the pap smear test require biopsy for a final pathological finding.
Finally, the different treatment options include surgical excision of cancer cells, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy and depend on the affected individual's cancer stage and age. However, treatment outcomes are better with early detection ("Cervical Cancer Treatment" par. 3). Early cancer cell excision through conization surgical procedure targets the removal of malignant cells lining the cervix. Other advanced surgical procedures like total hysterectomy that removes the uterus and the cervix are preferred in progressive disease in women past reproductive ages. Another form of treatment involves the use of radiation to kill cancer cells. Recommendations require high energy X-rays to initiate external or internal radiation treatment ("Cervical Cancer Treatment" par. 18). This therapy usually augments chemotherapy to improve cancer prognosis. Chemotherapy entails using cytotoxic pharmaceutical agents for killing or stopping the proliferation of cancer cells. These cytotoxic agents are harmful even to normal cells, but their usage depen