Written By: Satata Karmakar | Published : April 19, 2026 9:18 AM IST
Medically Verified By: Dr Tushar Patil
cervical cancer symptoms you shouldn't ignore
Cervical Cancer is referred to as a "silent" disease. This is, in fact, true, as in its early stages, cervical cancer makes very little noise about its existence. "Most women know cervical cancer only when they feel perfectly well, even though it is slowly taking hold hence the term 'silent'." This may perhaps turn out to be one of the biggest hurdles that an oncologist may have to deal with while trying to ensure that women are not killed by cervical cancer, as it becomes one of those types of cancer that may prove to be preventable and treatable if it develops early enough.
In an exclusive interaction with TheHealthSite.com, Dr Tushar Patil, Medical Oncologist at Sahyadri Super Speciality Hospital, Deccan, explained the severity of cervical cancer and what makes this form so deadly in nature.
Cervical cancer occurs over a long period. During the entire period, abnormal changes happen at the cellular level in the cervix. The disease lacks associated pain, bleeding, or noticeable manifestations. This means that a woman will only be forced to seek medical attention when the disease is already advanced.
The chief cause why cervical cancer, in most cases, stays hidden is that cervical cancer is strongly associated with a commonly transmitted virus called Human Papillomavirus or HPV. In most cases, cervical cells will return to normal on their own as a result of a healthy immune system. In other cases, however, these changes will persist in a silent manner, without warning signs.
Although most males and females will not even know that they carry this virus unless they themselves are diagnosed with some form of cancer, most will carry symptoms that are manifested once their disease has become rather advanced and will have warning signs that may occur in some form of:
And, of course, as one would naturally assume, this is part of the reason that cervical cancer continues to claim thousands of women all over the world each and every year, even though this form of cancer is known to be completely preventable through proper screening techniques and understanding of the warning signs that are brought about directly through cervical tumors that are premalignant in nature.
Awareness is an important strategy for helping to break the barrier of silence. The HPV tests and pap smears carried out on women help prevent abnormal growths and promote the growth of cancerous cells by identifying abnormal cell abnormalities, which can then be treated before the development of cancerous cells occurs. It should, therefore, be made clear to all women the importance of getting the HPV tests and pap smears done even if there are no symptoms.
Vaccines are life savers and this can be exemplified by the HPV vaccine since one can be immune to common types of HPV that cause cancers. When one receives the HPV vaccine before they are 26 years old, they are assured to be safe from cervical cancer in the future. The recognition and awareness of the importance of cervical cancer vaccination among parents and youths will serve as a stepping stone for controlling cervical cancer dissemination in the future.
Since that is the case, cervical cancer cannot and should never remain a silent killer. Consequently, the more tests are held, the more vaccinations there are, and the more information is obtained about cervical cancer, the more empowered women become about it, including its prevention.
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