How can I get cervical cancer when I am so young?

Hello everyone, I am Zou Shien, a male obstetrician and gynecologist. I have been an obstetrician and gynecologist for 15 years and have been lucky enough to help many patients.

However, I also regret to find that many female friends know very little about their own bodies and women’s unique knowledge. Especially the young little sister.

More than ten years ago, I admitted a 17-year-old girl to my bed. She is our director’s patient. She is not uncomfortable with what at ordinary times. She just fell out of her vagina when she went to the toilet one day and got a test in the hospital: cervical squamous cell carcinoma!

It was too young. At that time, the concept of preserving reproductive function was not so common. According to the diagnosis and treatment guidelines, extensive hysterectomy was required, which meant that she would not be able to give birth by herself! Our director wanted to give her the opportunity. After discussion at HKUST, she finally performed extensive cervical resection + pelvic lymph node dissection with uterus and ovary preservation for the patient.

17-year-old cervical cancer, she is not alone

According to statistics, in 2018, China had 106,000 new cervical cancer cases and 47,700 deaths each year. Among them, the peak age of new cases is 20-24 years old, and cervical cancer has become the third most common malignant tumor among women aged 15-44 years old.

The incidence of cervical cancer is getting younger and younger, which is directly related to the openness of the whole society’s concept of sex. Because 99% of cervical cancer is caused by the persistent infection of high-risk human papillomavirus HPV, and the most important route of transmission of HPV is sex.

Women who have sex are as likely to be infected with high-risk HPV as high as 80% ~ 90% in their lifetime. Although most HPV can be eliminated by their own immunity, they cannot hold such a high infection rate.

How did you get cervical cancer when you were so young?

Young girls have sex too early. As cervical epithelium is not yet mature and local resistance is weak, HPV is easy to take advantage of and embed into the DNA of epithelial cells. Such epithelial cells are likely to have problems.

If there are multiple sexual partners, or if the man has multiple sexual partners, the risk of HPV infection is significantly increased, and the risk of cervical cancer is also significantly increased.

If the vagina often occurs inflammatory infection, or heavy smoking, more serious is drug abuse and other HIV infection, these conditions greatly increase the possibility of HPV persistent infection.

We can see that some problems may be avoided, such as smoking and drug abuse, but sexual problems cannot be avoided unless they are not done for a lifetime.

Since it cannot be avoided, how should cervical cancer be prevented?

Prevention of cervical cancer is to some extent prevention of HPV infection.

We suggest using condoms throughout each sex life, which can block about 70% of HPV infection. It is suggested to be as clean as possible, not to have more sexual partners, and not to go to an appointment with P; Everyone takes active exercise, does not stay up late, improves health status, enhances immunity, and improves the body’s ability to remove HPV. Reproductive inflammation is actively treated to give the immune system more energy to deal with HPV infection.

We suggest that everyone can be vaccinated with HPV vaccine, which is the real sense of prevention of HPV infection. At present, there are three kinds of HPV vaccines in our country: bivalent, bivalent and bivalent. Theoretically, bivalent is the best, but at present the applicable population in mainland China is limited to women aged 16-26.

Therefore, if you have what vaccine, you will first be vaccinated with what vaccine. In the future, the age limit will be released or a newer vaccine will appear, and then you will be replanted. Don’t have to wait for 9 prices. If you are infected with HPV type 16 or 18 during the waiting process, it will be too late to cry.

We suggest that women who have sex should be screened for cervical cancer regularly. If conditions permit, a combined HPV and TCT examination should be performed every 1-2 years, or at least one of them should be performed once a year.

Don’t be reluctant to spend money, If wait until cervical cancer appears discomfort symptoms, may have reached the advanced stage. Because early cervical cancer or precancerous lesions, the vast majority are asymptomatic. Judging whether illness is unreliable by symptoms, only regular cervical cancer screening can do early diagnosis and treatment. Early cervical cancer, timely treatment can be cured.

Cervical cancer is no longer the patent of middle-aged and elderly women, it has quietly found young girls. Wake up, the more beautiful the girl, the more sober!