Women Health
• Women have always played a vital role in our
world. They serve as the glue that bonds our
families, societies, and world together. They are the
foundation, the caretakers and guardians, and all
the way to even the leaders who run and shape our
world to what it is to what it is today.
• Women's health refers to the branch of medicine
that focuses on the treatment and diagnosis of
diseases and conditions that affect a woman's
physical and emotional well-being.
• Women's health includes a wide range of
specialties and focus areas, such as: Birth control,
sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and
gynecology. Breast cancer, cervical cancer, and
other female cancers.
Cervical Cancer
• Cervical cancer is a growth of cells that starts in the
cervix. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus
that connects to the vagina.
Risk Factors for Cervical
Cancer
HPV infection causes
cervical cancer
• Long-lasting (persistent) infection with high-risk
types of human papillomavirus (HPV) causes
virtually all cervical cancers. HPV cause 70% of
cervical cancers worldwide.
• People who become sexually active at a young age,
especially before age 18, or have multiple sexual
partners are more likely to become infected with a
high-risk type of HPV.
Having a weakened
immune system.
This can lower the body’s ability to fight an HPV
infection. HPV infections are more likely to be
persistent and progress to cancer in people who are
immunocompromised than in people who are not
immunocompromised.
Smoking or breathing in
secondhand smoke
• People who smoke or breathe in secondhand
smoke have an increased risk of developing cervical
cancer. The risk increases the more a person
smokes or is exposed to secondhand smoke.
Reproductive factors
• Both the use of oral contraceptives (birth control
pills) and giving birth to many children are
associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer.
The reasons for these associations are not well
understood
Obesity
• Cervical cancer screening may be more difficult in
those with obesity, leading to lower detection of
precancers and a higher risk of cancer.
sign and Symptoms of
cervical cancer
• Early stages of cervical cancer don’t usually involve
symptoms and are hard to detect. The first signs of
cervical cancer may take time to develop.
●Signs and symptoms of Stage I cervical cancer can
include:
•Watery or bloody vaginal discharge that may be heavy
and can have a foul odor.
• •Vaginal bleeding after sex, between menstrual periods
or after menopause.
•
• •Pain during sex (dyspareunia).
If cancer has spread to nearby tissues or organs,
symptoms may include:
●Difficult or painful urination, sometimes with blood
in your urine.
●Diarrhea, pain or bleeding from your rectum when
pooping.
●Fatigue, loss of weight and appetite.
A general feeling of illness.
●Dull backache or swelling in your legs.
●Pelvic/abdominal pain.
Prevention
• Can cervical cancer be prevented?
• There are some things you can do to help prevent cervical
cancer. Receiving regular gynecological exams and getting
Pap tests are the most important steps to take toward
preventing cervical cancer. Other things you can do are:
•
• Get the HPV vaccine (if you’re eligible).
• Use condoms or other barrier methods when you have sex.
• Limit your sexual partners.
• Stop smoking and using tobacco products.
Breast Cancer
• Breast cancer is when breast cells mutate and
become cancerous cells that multiply and form
tumors. Breast cancer typically affects women age
50 and older, but it can also affect men, as well as
younger women. Healthcare providers may treat
breast cancer with surgery to remove tumors or
treatment to kill cancerous cells.
Risk factors
● Risk factors you can change
•Being overweight or having obesity after
menopause. Older women who are overweight or
have obesity have a higher risk of getting breast
cancer than those at a healthy weight.
•Drinking alcohol. Studies show that a woman's
risk for breast cancer increases with the more alcohol
she drinks.
●Risk factors you cannot change
•Getting older. The risk for breast cancer increases
with age. Most breast cancers are diagnosed after
age 50.
•Reproductive history. Starting menstrual periods
before age 12 and starting menopause after age 55
expose women to hormones longer, raising their risk
of getting breast cancer.
• Personal history of breast cancer or certain
noncancerous breast diseases. Women who have
had breast cancer are more likely to get breast
cancer a second time.
• Family history of breast or ovarian cancer. Having a
family history of breast cancer may increase risk for
breast cancer.
Sign and Symptoms
• Some warning signs of breast cancer are:
•
• ~New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
•
• ~Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
•
• ~Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
•
• ~Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
•
• ~Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple
• Limit or stay away from alcohol. It's safest not to
drink alcohol.
• Stay at a healthy weight. Ask a member of your
health care team whether your weight is healthy. If
it is, work to maintain that weight. If you need to
lose weight, ask your health care professional how
to do so.
• Get active. Physical activity can help you stay at a
healthy weight, which helps prevent breast cancer.
So try to move more and sit less.
• Breastfeed. If you have a baby, breastfeeding might
play a role in helping prevent breast cancer.
• Limit hormone therapy after menopause.
Combination hormone therapy uses estrogen and
progestin. It may raise the risk of breast cancer.
