Women Cancer Health Treatment

Obstetric and Gynecology published issue that could have critical health implications as public health advocates work to not only educate women about reducing their risks for cervical cancer, but also lower tobacco use around the globe.
Many researches results are being seen as especially important for women living in developing countries, where smoking is on the rise and cervical cancer.

Passive smoking has been known to increase the risks for heart disease and lung cancer in both men and women, and active cigarette smoking has been long established as a major risk factor for cervical cancer. Although scientists have suspected a link between secondhand smoke and cervical cancer, they needed more data to prove it.

It’s really important people get the message that smoking does much more than we ever thought that it did and that it affects our health in ways we don’t even fully know about yet.
Although easily treated if detected but cervical cancer remains as top public health threat because of HPV, human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection that causes the disease. Scientists around the globe are racing to develop a vaccine to block HPV infection.
It is possible that cigarette smoke acts in concert with HPV to promote progression to cancer

Smoking of any kind, direct or passive, can impair the immune system making it vulnerable to infection, including HPV, Carcinogens found in tobacco smoke “cause DNA damage or gene mutation” and block cells’ abilities to repair themselves

Women, should not think being around cigarette smoke will directly result in HPV infection. While smoking is unrelated to the acquisition of HPV infection, it is “related to immunity, which is important in the progression” of cervical tumors

The rising number of public smoking bans may make it easier for women in the United States to protect themselves, but such safeguards against public exposure to secondhand smoke are few and far between elsewhere in the world.

Written by Katrina Woznicki at Women News