The growth of cancer cells that begin in the lining of the uterus and spreads to the uterus is known as uterine cancer.
Symptoms of uterine cancer
Some of the symptoms of uterine cancer are:
- Bleeding between menstrual periods or longer periods
- Post menopausal vaginal bleeding
- Pain in the pelvis area
- An abnormal discharge from the vagina that is watery or tinged with blood
- Pain at the time of intercourse
Causes of uterine cancer
- Mutations of cells in the uterus lead to the growth of abnormal cells. Such cells divide and growth and eventually outnumber the healthy cells. This causes uterine cancer. The cause of the cell mutations is not known
- Presence of hereditary colon cancer syndrome; never being pregnant; earlier menstruation and/or late menopause; hormone treatment for breast cancer; hormonal imbalance in the body and an increased age are a few risk factors that increase the vulnerability to developing uterine cancer.
Treatment of uterine cancer
- Surgery may be used to remove the tumor from the uterus or the entire uterus may be removed
- Radiation therapy may be used to direct extreme rays of radiation at the cancer cells to destroy them
- Chemotherapy involves the intravenous administration of special drugs that kill the cancer cells
- Hormone therapy is used to rebalance the hormone levels in the body
Uterine cancer survival rate
The survival rate for uterine cancer refers to the percentage of patients who survive for a particular period of time after initial diagnosis of the disease. The statistics for most cases of the condition refer to the five year survival rate which indicates the percentage of patients that survive uterine cancer for a period of at least five year after the disease is first detected. It is the most popular standard followed by doctor to gauge the survival rate for uterine cancer
It is however important to note that each individual case of uterine cancer is unique and is dependent on various factors besides the disease itself. Hence, the survival rate is just a rough estimate of chances of survival from uterine cancer. The chances of survival are dependent on factors such as:
- The look of the cancer cells under a microscope
- The stage of uterine cancer
- Whether the disease is a reoccurrence or a fresh case
- Whether progesterone affects the cancer cells
- The age and overall health of the patient
There are different ways to calculate the survival rate for uterine cancer. The best is the five year relative survival rate for uterine cancer which is a comparison of the survival rate to the general popular not affected by the disease and who are of similar age, race, etc.
- The overall five year relative survival rate for the time period 1995-2001 was around 84.4 %
- As per race it was 61.8 % for African American women and 86.2 % for Caucasian women
As per the stage of uterine cancer, the five year relative survival rate was:
- 96.1 % for localized
- 66.3 % for regional
- 25.2 % for distant
- 57.3 % for unstaged
