There are many types of cancer that people suffer with and knowing the symptoms can help detect it early, sometimes giving greater chances of survival.
While you’ve probably heard of cervical cancer, do you know the symptoms?
Cervical cancer is found in the cervix and women aged under 45 are most affected by it.
Here are the symptoms you should look out for and advice on when to see your GP.
The NHS will today pledge to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 for the first time ever, by focusing on easy access to HPV vaccinations and boosting cervical screening.
— NHS England (@NHSEngland) November 15, 2023
Read more about how the NHS is set to save thousands more lives each year. https://t.co/5VCpyAu2Vy pic.twitter.com/exGnkwNaDu
Cervical cancer symptoms
Cervical cancer symptoms include vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you, according to the NHS.
This includes bleeding during or after sex, between your periods or after the menopause.
You might also experience heavier periods than usual.
Changes to vaginal discharge, pain during sex and pain in your lower back, between your hip bones or in your lower tummy could also be signs of cervical cancer.
Anyone with a cervix can get cervical cancer and nearly all cervical cancers are caused by and infection from types of human papillomavirus (HPV).
Cervical cancer can be prevented by cervical screening – this aims to find and treat changes to cells before they develop into cancer.
Usually, cervical cancer grows very slowly and the size of it, if it has spread and your general health can be indicators for how serious it is.
When should you see a GP?
People who have conditions such as fibroids or endometriosis may experience some of these symptoms regularly and might get used to them but it’s important to get them checked by your GP if they change, get worse or don’t feel normal for you.
Recommended reading:
See your GP as soon as possible if you have any cervical cancer symptoms – the NHS understands you may feel embarrassed to do this but it encourages anyone with symptoms to speak to their GP as the doctor or nurse will be used to talking about this topic.
The NHS emphasises that the above symptoms are “very common” and can be caused by other conditions so it doesn’t necessarily mean you have cervical cancer if you’ve noticed these symptoms.
Getting them checked with your GP is best as treatment can be more successful if you find you have cervical cancer early.
You can find out more about cervical cancer and what happens at a doctor appointment via the NHS website.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here