Wellness Wednesday with Dr. Amy Doan from The Valley Health System

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's Wellness Wednesday right here on Sunnyone O six point five. This week's
topic is cervical cancer screening. Andon with me this week is doctor Amy
done with the Valley Health System.Thank you for being on well this Wednesday.
Thank you for having me. Sowhat are the primary risk factors for
developing cervical cancer? So, cervicalcancer, just to give a general overview,

(00:22):
it's the third most common cancer ofthe female genital tract, right behind
endometrial and ovarian cancer. Primary riskfactors for cervical cancer. Usually the main
cause is an HPV infection, whichstands for human papaloma virus. There's many
types of different HPVs, but thehigh risk ones are the main risk factors

(00:44):
for developing cervical cancer. Other riskfactors that we have to keep in mind
to is usually cigarette smoking. Patientswho smoke are twice as likely to develop
cervical cancer. Low socioeconomic status willalso contribute to cervical cancer as well as
for the HPV related causes. Havingmultiple sexual partners, early onset of sexual

(01:07):
activity, high risk sexual partners,and a history of STDs can contribute as
well. Interesting, Yeah, I'veheard of HPV I feel like for years
now it's usually you know, alwaystested for in the women's annual Guido appointments.
So I think it's very important thatwe continue to get screened for HPV
because how it's such a big factorwith cervical cancer. Now, what are

(01:30):
the early signs and symptoms of cervicalcancer that individuals should be made aware of?
Yes, so early signs. Sopatients are normally asymptomatic in the early
stages, which means there might notbe any symptoms at all. But some
signs that you know you might seeare abnormal vaginal bleeding. So this can

(01:51):
you know, be postcoital bleeding,which means that you're bleeding right after you
have sexual intercourse. If you haveirregular bleeding in between your mental cycles,
any sort of vaginal discharge that mightbe you know, bloodstained or it smells
a little bit off can be signsof cervical cancer as well. You know,
the best way that you can kindof see is through a cervical examination,

(02:14):
and there you can kind of seeearly changes of cervical cancer with the
naked eye as well. And it'sgood to note those early signs because if
you can address things early you havea better chance of fighting those things off.
Now, how can regular PAP smearsand HPV testing help in the early
detection and prevention of cervical cancer.Yeah, so pap smears are great.

(02:35):
They can be done in the office, whether at your you know, your
primary care doctor, or at yourgynecology office. They help prevent cervical cancer.
But it's an early screening test.You get it. You get it
done every three to five years,starting at age twenty one up to age
sixty five. It actually has helpeda lot because cervical cancer used to be
so much more prevalent in the UnitedStates, and then when PAS smears started

(03:00):
to get introduced, you can kindof see the mortality in the incidence of
cervical cancer get lower and lower.That's why it's the third most common cancer
of the female genital tract. It'sjust been getting lower, about a seventy
five percent decrease in incidence over thepast fifty years. Okay, so that's
good. It's oft decline and alot of it maybe because of the early

(03:21):
detection and the regular screening. Yeah, that's why we do the screenings.
I love to hear that. Now, let's talk about treatment options because I'm
curious to know what treatment options areavailable for cervical cancer at the different stages
of the disease. Yeah, soyou know, once we do the pap
smear, if we see some sortof abnormal spot or lesion, we normally
take a biopsy and then after thebiopsy comes the staging. So there's different

(03:46):
stagings of cervical cancer is usually stageone through four. It depends on where
the cervical cancer is located, ifit's spread anywhere else. Stage one being
you know, the tumors confined tothe cervix, whereas at stage four you
pretty much have metastasis, so differentsurgical treatments or different treatment options in general.
In this early stages, we actuallyprefer surgical treatment over chemo or radiation,

(04:12):
so that entails a hysterectomy, whichmeans that you know, the uterus,
the cervix, and or the surgeriesor the ovaries are removed surgically.
For patients who want to spare fertilityand still want to get pregnant, there
are different procedures and surgeries that wecan do, such as you know,
a cervic just a cervix removal,or if we can just cut out that

(04:33):
area of tissue where there's the diseasethings like that. But these treatment options
definitely should be discussed with your gynecologistsand seeing you know, what different treatment
options there are for you. Asfor you know, advanced disease, like
if there's metastasis or anything, wenormally recommend chemo radiation rather than surgery.

(04:56):
Okay, good to know. Nowlet's talk about the HPV VEX. How
can the HPV vaccine contribute to theprevention of cervical cancer and who do you
recommend receive that vaccine. Yeah,so the HPV vaccine basically provides immunization against
HPV, which is the highest riskfactor for developing cervical cancer. Like we

(05:17):
discussed, it's normally recommended for patientswho are actually pretty young. So we
start giving the vaccine around ages elevento twelve, but you can actually start
at age nine. It's a seriesof two vaccines that are normally given six
to twelve months apart. If thereare adolescents who start the HPV vaccine on

(05:39):
their fifteenth birthday, then they needto have three doses normally given over a
period of six months. So theHPV vaccination is also not recommended for anyone
over the age of twenty six,as it provides less benefit to adults as
people in this age range have alreadybeen exposed to HPV already and the vaccine
won't benefit them as much. Well, that was really incredible information. Thank

(06:02):
you so much, doctor Amy donfor the helpful information on cervical cancer screenings.
Now, if anybody out there whois listening wants to go and get
tested for HPV or cervical cancer,you know where should they get started.
Yeah, the best pace to getstarted for patients definitely reach out to your
primary care provider. A lot ofproviders do PAP smears there. You can

(06:24):
also reach out to your OBI gainas well to get PAP smears and get
your cervical cancer screening done. DoctorAmy done with the Valley Health System.
Thank you for being on well thisWednesday. Thanks for having me