Cervical Cancer : Experts View
Experts have raised the need to conduct more screening test to detect cervical cancer among women along with vaccine drive for girls.
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced during the presentation of the interim Budget that the government plans to encourage vaccination against cervical cancer for girls aged nine to 14.
- Cervical Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control.
- Cancer is always named for the part of the body where it starts, even if it spreads to other body parts later.
- Cervical cancer is a growth of cells that starts in the cervix.
- The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina.
- Various strains of the human papillomavirus, also called HPV, play a role in causing most cervical cancers.
- HPV is a common infection that’s passed through sexual contact.
- When exposed to HPV, the body’s immune system typically prevents the virus from doing harm. In a small percentage of people, however, the virus survives for years.
- This contributes to the process that causes some cervical cells to become cancer cells.
- It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in India (over 77,000 annually), and is estimated to be the second most frequent cancer among Indian women between 15 and 44 years.
