Rayshell Clapper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Nowadays almost everyone has been affected by women´s cancer, whether personally or through a family member or friend. Women´s cancer touches so many people in so many different ways. Breast cancer is by far the most well known type of women´s cancer, but women suffer from other kinds of cancers as well.
According to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), some other forms of women´s cancer include cervical, endometrial, gestational trophoblastic tumors, ovarian, uterine sarcoma, vaginal and vulvar cancer. Each one of these cancers affects women specifically. While breast cancer is most commonly associated with women, it also occurs in men, albeit in far fewer cases.
According to the Mayo Clinic´s Women´s Cancer Program, nearly forty-five percent of all cancer diagnoses in women originate in the breasts or reproductive system. This is enough to demand attention. Although breast cancer is a serious and growing threat that demands ample attention, the other seven types of women´s cancer deserve focus as well. These other cancers take the lives of hundreds of thousands of women each year. Though breast cancer certainly affects the most, these others need more exposure and more research funds.
What is even more concerning about the types of women´s cancer is that many women — specifically young women — tend to ignore, deny or simply do not understand some of the telltale symptoms of cancer. WebMD explains that women most often do not seek medical attention for the following common cancer symptoms:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Bloating
- Breast changes
- Between-period bleeding
- Other unusual bleeding
- Blood in urine or stool
- Skin changes
- Difficulty Swallowing
- Gnawing abdominal pain
- Depression
- Indigestion
- Pain
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Persistent cough
The problem is that many of these symptoms are easy to overlook because they are commonly associated with other more or less harmless conditions. Take bloating, for instance. Women bloat at different times during their menstrual cycle, when they eat too much sodium, and even when they are dehydrated. Because it is such a common and usually innocuous phenomenon, the vast majority of women would not think of chronic bloating as a symptom of cancer.
Furthermore, because of the lack of education about the different types of women´s cancer, many women are not even aware that these symptoms could be a result of cancer. The safest plan is to ignore nothing. Women must take control of their medical destinies and seek the best medical advice and planning.
Women´s cancer is not something to ignore. We must be proactive. We must be knowledgeable. We must spread the word about women´s cancer. Today.
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