Mortality rates have been declining by about 3.3 per cent per year since 1995. "This is mostly due to widespread screening with Pap tests," says Heather Chappell, acting director of Cancer Control Policy for the Canadian Cancer Society in Toronto.
Who's most at risk
Women who had sex for the first time at a young age or who have had multiple sex partners. Women who smoke or have a weakened immune system, as well as those have used birth control pills for a long time.
Best ways to decrease your risk
Get regular Pap tests and don't smoke. Limit the number of sexual partners you have. Using condoms helps, but human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that is often a precursor to cervical cancer, can be spread by non-penetrative contact.
Screening
Testing for HPV will soon become a more common way of determining whether a woman is at risk of cervical cancer, says Janet Dollin, an Ottawa- based family physician.
Ask your doctor
• About any abnormal bleeding. This includes spotting between periods or after sex; heavier or longer periods; bleeding after menopause; more vaginal discharge than normal; and pain in the pelvis or lower back, or during sex.
• About the vaccine. Dollin says women over 26 should ask their doctors about
getting vaccinated for HPV.
Breakthroughs in treatment
• The cervical cancer vaccine. The first vaccine for cervical cancer, Gardasil, was approved in 2006 and recommended for women ages nine to 26. A federal recommendation to vaccinate older women is expected this year.
• Radical trachelectomy helps overcome infertility. Used primarily in women with cervical cancer in its early stage, the procedure involves removing the cervix and tying a stitch at the entrance of the uterus. "That's been a big breakthrough as a fertility preserving option," says Plante.
• Better imaging. Positron emission tomography– computed tomography (PET-CT), a combination of two types of nuclear medicine imaging that provide very accurate pictures of your body, is being used more frequently to identify cancer cells, especially after radiation therapy, to determine if the disease is still present, adds Plante.
Uterine cancer
Uterine or endometrial cancer starts in the cells lining the uterus. The good news: you have only a 2.4 per cent chance of developing uterine cancer in your lifetime.
Who's most at risk
Post-menopausal women or women who are severely overweight. Those who started their period early, entered menopause late, did not have kids or used hormonal medications for a long time.
Best ways to decrease your risk
Manage your weight. Women who are obese have an increased risk of developing uterine cancer. If you're taking hormonal medications, talk to your doctor.
Screening
A biopsy, which involves removing a piece of the lining of the uterus, is usually necessary to make a definite diagnosis of uterine cancer.
Ask your doctor
• About any bleeding past menopause.
Breakthroughs in treatment
• Less invasive surgeries. More and more uterine cancers are operated on through laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgery, says Plante.
• Reversing cancer through drugs. Plante says that in some cases in which a woman has an early stage of uterine cancer and wants to keep her uterus, high doses of hormones can reverse the disease.
• A new class of drugs. Early reports suggest that mTOR inhibitors can shrink uterine tumours by halting the rapid growth of cancer cells.
Fact: You have only a 2.4 per cent chance of developing uterine cancer in your lifetime.
Read more about gynecological cancers here.
Page 3 of 4 - Read page four to learn about ovarian cancer.
