Writting paper- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writting paper- - Essay Example The Signs and symptoms of the early stages of cervical cancer may be completely asymptomatic. Vaginal bleeding, contact bleeding or a vaginal mass may indicate the presence of malignancy. Also, moderate pain during sexual intercourse and vaginal discharge are symptoms of cervical cancer. In advanced disease, metastases may be present in the abdomen, lungs or elsewhere. Symptoms of advanced cervical cancer may include: loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, leg pain, and single swollen leg, heavy bleeding from the vagina, leaking of urine from the vagina and bone fractures (Kumar et al. 2007). Numerous studies of the epidemiology of cervical cancer have shown strong associations with religious, marital and sexual patterns. Although it is well established that women with multiple partners and early ages at first intercourse are at high risk, less is known about how these factors interact or how risk is affected by specific sexual characteristics. Recent studies indicate that number of steady partners and frequent intercourse at early ages may further enhance risk, supporting hypotheses regarding a vulnerable period of the cervix and a need for repeated exposure to an infectious agent. It is now widely accepted that HPV is the major infectious etiological agent, but whether other infectious agents play supportive or interactive roles is unclear. Other speculative risk factors for cervical cancer include cigarette smoking, oral contraceptive usage and certain nutritional deficiencies, but again it is not clear whether these factors operate independently from HPV. Although cervical cancer incidence trends correlate with the population prevalence of various venereally transmitted agents, it is not certain how disease rates are affected by other potential risk factors which have changed during recent time (e.g., exposure to HPV, sexual behavior, cigarette smoking). In addition, a number of recent