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More than 80,000 American women are diagnosed with some kind of reproductive cancer each year, according to the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation. Reproductive, or gynecologic cancer, is the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells originating in the female reproductive organs, including the cervix, ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, vagina and vulva. Throughout your life, you can acquire these genetic mutations through smoking, environmental influences, aging or hereditary.
Knowing your risk can help you take action to decrease your odds of developing certain types of reproductive cancers. How can you determine your risk? Educate yourself about the various reproductive cancers (a list is below). Also, take the Women's Cancer Network's 10-minute test online at www.wcn.org. The assessment, which is free and confidential, explains a woman's risk of developing reproductive cancer and a detailed plan for decreasing risks.
"We all know that 911 is the emergency assistance number that saves thousands of lives per year," says Mitchell Morris, M.D., a gynecologic oncologist who was a lead developer of the Women's Cancer Network Web site. "Our hope is that by logging on to www.wcn.org, additional lives can be saved by informing women about their risk of cancer."
The risk assessment gives women some peace of mind or some thought-provoking findings that they should discuss with their physician. Keep in mind that the assessment is just an assessment; only a doctor can diagnose gynecologic cancer.
Lowering your risk
Diet, exercise and lifestyle changes play a significant role in the prevention of cancer. For example, studies have shown that diets rich in vitamins and antioxidants and low in fat can protect against cancer. Increased levels of vitamin C also appear to reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Weight control can help reduce the risk of endometrial and uterine cancers. Quitting smoking, important to overall health, can lower your risk of cervical and vaginal cancers.
Knowing your family history can increase your chance of early diagnosis and help you take action toward prevention. Finally, screening and self-examinations done regularly can detect certain types of reproductive cancers in their earlier stages when treatment is more likely to be successful.
The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), founded in 1992 by a group of gynecologic oncologists (specialists in the treatment of cancers of the female reproductive tract) advises women to watch out for these six warning signs of reproductive cancer:
- Unusual vaginal bleeding or discharge.
- A sore that does not heal.
- Pain or pressure in the pelvic area.
- A persistent change in bowel or bladder habits.
- Frequent indigestion or abdominal bloating.
- A thickening or lump that either causes pain or can be seen or felt.
Listed below are snapshots of types of reproductive cancers provided by the GCF:
Ovarian cancer
What it is: Ovarian cancer, the most serious of the gynecologic malignancies, usually arises on the surface of the ovary. It is usually diagnosed in an advanced stage.
Symptoms: Changes or discomforts, such as a pressure or fullness in the pelvis, abdominal bloating, or changes in bowel and bladder patterns, which are constant and progressive.
Risk factors: Risk increases with age, particularly around menopause, a family history of ovarian cancer, and infertility and/or not bearing children.
Uterine cancer
What it is: Most uterine cancers begin in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) after menopause. Those cells in the lining that grow out of control and invade the muscle of the uterus are typically responsible for uterine cancer.
Symptoms: Warning signs include any bleeding after menopause or irregular vaginal bleeding before menopause.
Risk factors: Obesity, hypertension, diabetes, inappropriate estrogen use, tamoxifen use, polycystic ovary disease, increasing age and late menopause. Women who have not been pregnant have a slightly higher risk.
Cervical cancer
What it is: Cervical cancer is caused by abnormal cellular changes in the cervix and is the only gynecologic cancer that can be prevented by identifying precancerous conditions through regular screening (a Pap smear).
Symptoms: Bleeding after intercourse, excessive vaginal discharge and abnormal bleeding between periods.
Risk factors: Failure to receive regular examinations often eliminates the opportunity for early diagnosis by Pap smear screening. Smoking, a high number of sexual partners, HIV, HPV (wart virus) infection and early age of first intercourse are other risk factors.
Vulvar cancer
What it is: Vulvar cancer appears as lesions on the surface of the vulva or labia.
Symptoms: Itching in the vulvar area.
Risk factors: Two different types of women's medical histories seem to be a precursor to vulvar cancer. The first involves women who have precancerous changes due to the same HPV viruses that contribute to risks of cervical cancer. Typically women ages 30 to 60 - especially those who smoke, have a suppressed immune system, and/or have had abnormal Pap test results in the past - are most susceptible to this form of vulvar cancer. The second type of vulvar cancer seems to affect older women ages 70 to 90 who typically have diabetes and/or experienced chronic vulvar irritation.
Vaginal cancer
Vaginal cancers are rare. They are usually diagnosed in elderly women with abnormal bleeding and are treated with radiation.
To learn more about reproductive cancers or to obtain a list of specially trained gynecologic oncologists in your area, call the GCF at 1-800-444-4441.
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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