- anaesthetic awareness
- birth injury
- brain haemorrhage
- cancer misdiagnosis
- cauda equina syndrome
- cerebral palsy
- cosmetic surgery
- dental negligence
- gynaecology errors
- laparoscopy surgery
- medical negligence solicitors
- neonatal conditions
- obstetric cholestasis
- surgery negligence
- gastric band surgery
- prescription errors
Cervical Cancer - Medical Negligence Claims
Thousands of clinical compensation claims are initiated every year in the United Kingdom by medical negligence solicitors on behalf of people from all walks of life. A multitude of operations and procedures are executed successfully however a small percentage do go wrong, laying the grounds for medical negligence solicitors to take legal action in order to claim compensation. Both legal aid and the no win no fee scheme are available to pursue medical negligence compensation claims.
Please contact us for help pursuing your claim.
Medical Negligence Compensation Claim Solicitors Helpline 0844 332 0095
Cervical cancer is a common female cancer that is partially caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV. Women exposed to HPV have their immune system attempt to fight off the virus but some of the virus is always persistent and changes some of the surface cells of the cervix into cancerous cells. Cervical cancer is more common in women who are older than thirty years of age. Because of regular Pap tests, the actual death rate from cervical cancer has decreased readily over the last fifty years. A vaccine is now available that can prevent cervical cancer in many young women.
The symptoms of cervical cancer may be minimal or none, depending on how severe the cancer is. As the disease becomes more severe, there can be vaginal bleeding, bleeding after intercourse, bleeding after menopause, watery discharge from the cervix that can have a bad odor an pelvic pain with or without intercourse.
There are two types of cervical cancer. There is squamous cell cancer that begins in the cells that line the bottom of the cervix which accounts for 80-90 percent of cervical cancer. Adenocarcinoma is a type of cervical cancer that occurs in the gland cells of the upper cervix. It accounts for 10-20 percent of all cervical cancers. Some women develop both types of cancer at once.
No one knows the exact cause of cervical cancer. Doctors know it can be related to the HPV virus because signs of HPV are found in almost all types of cervical cancers. Most women, on the other hand, who have HPV never go on to get cervical cancer. There must be other risk factors, including environment, genetic makeup, or lifestyle choices that play into the development of the disease.
Screening for the disease begins when a person is sexually active or at the age of 21. Screening includes a Pap test of the cervix. A Pap test can detect abnormal cervical cells in the precancerous stage. Such cells might turn into cancerous cells but might not. These precancerous cells are not life-threatening if caught early. An HPV DNA test can tell if you have been infected with any one of the thirteen strains of HPV that might lead to cervical cancer. Cells are collected from the cervix for this test.
Cervical cancer is diagnosed when cells of the cervix on the Pap test come back positive for cancer. The doctor will check the cancer cells using a culposcopy exam. This is a microscope exam that looks for areas of cancer. If it finds cancerous cells, the woman is treated. Samples of cervical cells are taken from the culposcopy exam. Doctors can remove a cone-shaped area of cervical cells called a conization procedure.
Cervical cancer has certain stages, like most cancers. The treatment of cervical cancer depends on the stage of cancer discovered. Staging is done using imaging tests such as a CT scan, MRI exam and ultrasound. Doctors may use special scopes just to see the inside of the bladder and in the rectum.
The staging of cervical cancer includes the following stages:
- Stage 0 is called carcinoma in situ and is a small and well-confined cancer
- Stage I is where the cancer is confined to the cervical area
- Stage II cancer is when the cancer is confined to the cervix and uterus but not to the pelvic wall or vagina.
- Stage III cervical cancer is when the cancer has moved to the lower vagina or pelvic wall.
- Stage IV cervical cancer is when the cancer has spread to the bladder, rectum or to distant areas of the body.
Treatment of the cancer includes conization of a local cancer to get rid of all the cancer cells. Laser surgery can also be used to get rid of cancerous cells. A procedure called a loop electrosurgical excision procedure or LEEP uses a wire loop that passes an electrical current and removes cells from the opening to the cervix. Cryosurgery freezes the dangerous cells of the cervix. A hysterectomy is used whenever the cancer has spread to nearby areas in the pelvis.
When the cervical cancer becomes invasive, surgery is used to remove as much of the cancer as possible. A radical hysterectomy removes the uterus, the upper part of the vagina, the cervix and the other reproductive organs. Radiation can be used to kill remaining cancer cells. It can be done as an external beam radiation or by inserting a radioactive substance into the cervical area. Chemotherapy is available for cervical cancer, including a drug called cisplatin. Women who are treated for cervical cancer are often infertile after that. There can be fertility-sparing treatments that can help a woman have a baby after suffering from cervical cancer.