Cervical Cancer

Overview

Cancer is not a single disease with a single cause and a single type of treatment. There are more than 200 different types of cancer, each with its own name and treatment. Although cells in different parts of the body may look and work differently, most repair and reproduce themselves in the same way. Normally, cells divide in an orderly and controlled way. But if for some reason the process gets out of control, the cells carry on dividing and develop into a lump called a tumour. Tumours are either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Doctors can tell if a tumour is benign or malignant by removing a piece of tissue (biopsy) and examining a small sample of cells under a microscope.

In a benign tumour the cells do not spread to other parts of the body and so are not cancerous. However, they may carry on growing at the original site, and may cause a problem by pressing on surrounding organs.

In a malignant tumour the cancer cells have the ability to spread beyond the original area of the body. If the tumour is left untreated, it may spread into surrounding tissue. Sometimes cells break away from the original (primary) cancer. They may spread to other organs in the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system – the body’s natural defence against infection and disease. It’s made up of organs such as bone marrow, the thymus, the spleen, and lymph nodes. The lymph nodes throughout the body are connected by a network of tiny lymphatic tubes (ducts). The lymphatic system has two main roles: it helps to protect the body from infection and it drains fluid from the tissues.

When the cancer cells reach a new area they may go on dividing and form a new tumour. This is known as a secondary cancer or a metastasis.

Cervical cancer is an uncommon type of cancer that develops in a woman’s cervix. The cervix is the entrance to the womb from the vagina.

Cervical cancer often has no symptoms in its early stages. If you have symptoms, the most common is unusual vaginal bleeding, which can occur after sex, in between periods or after the menopause.

Abnormal bleeding doesn’t mean that you definitely have cervical cancer, but it’s a cause for concern. It’s important to see a licensed health practitioner as soon as possible.

Over the course of many years, the cells lining the surface of the cervix undergo a series of changes. In rare cases, these changed cells can become cancerous. However, cell changes in the cervix can be detected at a very early stage, and treatments can reduce the risk of cervical cancer developing.

Symptoms

Cervical cancer is the 5th most common cancer in women worldwide with approximately 471,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It’s sobering to think that a woman dies of cervical cancer approximately every 2 minutes.
In less developed countries, this type of cancer is the second most common in women and accounts for up to 300,000 annual deaths. 80% of the cases occur in low-income or middle-income countries.

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer for women in Central America and Southern Africa. The Caribbean, other parts of Africa, South America and South Eastern Asia also have very high incidences of this disease. Unfortunately, many women from these areas don’t have access to routine exams such as Pap smears.

Although the average age of diagnosis is 50, women as young as 17 can contract the disease. The Western Journal of Medicine has published an informative online article entitled Cervical Cancer In the Developing World.

US Statistics: Cervical cancer is the 8th most common type of cancer in American women. More than 10,000 new patients develop cervical cancer each year, and 3,600 women in the US die from the advanced form of this disease annually.

United Kingdom: Approximately 2,800 women in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. As many as 1,100 UK women die from the disease which is the 12th most common cancer for UK women. In 2003, approximately 2300 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in England alone.

In Canada, 1,350 cases are expected to be diagnosed during 2012.

The first European Cervical Cancer Prevention week was launched Jan 21-28, 2007, with the aim of increasing awareness and encouraging women to undergo annual Pap testing. In addition, community organizations such as the National Cervical Cancer Coalition www.nccc-online.org and Canadian Cancer Society www.cancer.ca also promote awareness and are committed to fighting cervical cancer worldwide.

The symptoms of cervical cancer aren’t always obvious and it may not cause any symptoms at all until it has reached an advanced stage. This is why it’s very important for you to attend your screening appointments for a cervical smear test. Symptoms to be aware of include:

Unusual bleeding – In most cases, vaginal bleeding is the first noticeable symptom of cervical cancer. It usually occurs after having sex.

Bleeding at any other time, other than your expected monthly period, is also considered to be unusual. This includes bleeding after the menopause (when a woman’s monthly periods stop).

pain in and around your vagina when having sex

an unpleasant smelling vaginal discharge

pain when passing urine

Advanced cervical cancer: If the cancer spreads out of your cervix and into surrounding tissue and organs, it can trigger a range of other symptoms, including:

constipation
blood in your urine (haematuria)
loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence)
bone pain
swelling of one of your legs
swelling of one or both kidneys, which can become misshapen due to a build-up of urine, and cause severe pain in your side or back; this type of swelling is known as hydronephrosis
changes to your bowel and bladder habits
loss of appetite
weight loss
tiredness and lack of energy

It is recommended that you contact your licensed health practitioner straight away if you experience:

bleeding after having sex (post-coital bleeding)
bleeding outside of your normal periods
new bleeding after the menopause

Vaginal bleeding is very common and can have a range of causes, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have cervical cancer. However, despite being common, unusual vaginal bleeding is a symptom that needs to be investigated.

The spread of cervical cancer:

If cervical cancer is undiagnosed and untreated, it will slowly spread out of the cervix (neck of the womb) and into the surrounding tissue and organs. The cancer can spread down to the vagina and the surrounding muscles that support the bones of the pelvis. Alternatively, it can spread upwards, blocking the tube that runs from your kidneys to your bladder (ureters).

The cancer will then spread into your bladder, rectum (back passage) and eventually into your liver, bones and lungs. Cancerous cells can also spread through your lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a series of nodes (glands) and channels that are spread throughout your body in a similar way to your blood circulation system.

The lymph nodes produce many of the specialised cells that are needed by your immune system (the body’s natural defence against infection and illness). If you have an infection, the nodes in your neck or under your armpits may be swollen.

In some cases of early cervical cancer, the lymph nodes close to the cervix contain cancerous cells.

And in some cases of advanced cervical cancer, lymph nodes in the chest and abdomen can be affected.

Causes

Human papillomavirus (HPV)

Almost all cases of cervical cancer occur in women who have been previously infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is actually a group of viruses, rather than a single virus. There are more than 100 different types.

HPV is spread during sexual intercourse and is thought to be very common. An estimated 1 in 3 women will develop a HPV infection within two years of starting to have regular sex.

Some types of HPV do not cause any noticeable symptoms and the infection will pass without the need for treatment. Other types of HPV can cause genital warts.

Two types of HPV are known to have the highest risk of causing cervical cancer. They are:

HPV16 – which accounts for around 50-55% of all cases
HPV18 – which accounts for around 15-20% of all cases

A further 11 types of HPV also have a higher chance of causing cancer.

High-risk types of HPV are thought to contain genetic material that can be passed into the cells of the cervix. This material begins to disrupt the normal workings of the cells (see below), which can eventually cause them to reproduce uncontrollably, leading to the growth of a cancerous tumour.

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Cancer of the cervix usually takes many years to develop. Before it does, the cells in the cervix often show changes, known as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).

CIN is a pre-cancerous condition. Pre-cancerous conditions do not pose an immediate threat to a person’s health, but they can potentially develop into ‘fully-blown’ cancer in the future. However, most women who have CIN won’t develop cervical cancer.

CIN is graded using a number system from one to three. The higher the number, the more abnormalities there are in affected cells. It is estimated that:

one third of women with CIN 1 will progress to CIN 2
around half of all women with CIN 2 will progress to CIN 3
around one third of women with CIN 3 will develop cervical cancer

Therefore if you develop CIN 1, your chances of developing cervical cancer at a later date are less than 1 in 30.

The progression from becoming infected with HPV to developing CIN and then developing cervical cancer is very slow. It usually takes at least six years to progress from an initial infection to CIN 3. It takes up to 10 years for CIN 3 to develop into cervical cancer.

Risk factors

The fact that HPV infection is very common but cervical cancer is relatively uncommon would seem to suggest that only a very small proportion of women are vulnerable to the effects of a HPV infection. There appear to be additional risk factors that affect an individual’s chance of developing cervical cancer.

Known risk factors include:

smoking – women who smoke are twice as likely to get cervical cancer than non-smokers; this may be due to harmful effects of chemicals found in tobacco on the cells of the cervix
having a weakened immune system – which can be the result of taking certain medications, such as immunosuppressants, which are used to stop the body rejecting donated organs, or as a result of a condition such as HIV/AIDS
taking the oral contraceptive pill for more than five years – women who do this are thought to have twice the risk of developing cervical cancer than those who do not take the pill
having children (the more children you have, the greater your risk – women who have two children have twice the risk of getting cervical cancer compared to women who do not have any children

The reason for the link between cervical cancer and childbirth is unclear. One theory is that the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy could make the cervix more vulnerable to the effects of HPV.

Do

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Diet

If you do the Jeff McCombs Candida Protocol you will already be avoiding all of the foods that trigger cancer. However here are the foods to avoid at all costs.

Do not consume any artificial sweeteners, such as Splenda, NutraSweet or Aspartame

Do not consume high fructose corn syrup or mono-sodium glutamate.

Do not drink any carbonated beverages.

Avoid all fast food or chain restaurants and all processed food.

Avoid all canned food.

Eat mostly fresh, organic vegetables and fruits.

Avoid all foods that are high in unhealthy saturated and trans-fats, hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats and oils, margarine, and shortening. Eliminate refined white flour, which is found in the majority of foods found on a typical grocery store shelf, including bread, bagels, crackers, cakes, cookies, and other baked good, pasta. Also avoid alcohol, caffeine, simple carbohydrates, sugars and sugar products, foods that are overly spicy, and all processed and commercial “junk” food. Stay clear of all inorganic pasteurized milk and dairy products, including yogurt and cheese; best to eat only raw, organic dairy products.

Empower yourself, and choose a diet emphasizing organic whole foods, including plenty of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, oats, whole grains, such as brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat. Include a variety of preferably soaked, nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Minimize your intake of red meat; though be sure to consume adequate amounts of organic, free-range poultry, bison and wild-caught fish. Eat generous quantities of both raw and lightly steamed organic vegetables and large fresh salads daily. Preferably, cook with virgin coconut butter/oil and use extra virgin olive oil, high lignin flax seed oil and hemp seed oil as condiments on veggies and as the base for your daily salad dressing. Throughout the day, drink plenty of pure, filtered water, and avoid drinking—as well as bathing, and showering in—unfiltered tap water, as tap water contains heavy metals and pesticide residues that can settle in high concentrations in the body.

The raw food diet is a food plan that can be of great benefit if you suffer from breast cancer. Using the guidelines outlined above as a base camp for a clean and healthy diet, one can then transition into a raw food diet as desired. Raw food generates rapid results because of its ability to thoroughly detoxify and liberate your body’s previously untapped energy.

The diet mainly consists of raw fruits, vegetables, and soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds, supplemented with daily consumption of fresh green juices made from a variety of vegetables such as celery, romaine lettuce, spinach, carrot, kale, parsley, and an ever rotating seasonal selection of other organic veggies. Raw foodists enjoy salads, dehydrated flax crackers, seed and nut patés, blended soups, smoothies, and marinated veggies, often mixed with soaked sea vegetables. Since little to no cooked food is consumed, the raw diet has the advantage of instantly eliminating many common allergens. No cooked wheat or wheat by-products are consumed, and generally dairy is omitted, though some might choose to eat moderate quantities of raw goat or sheep milk products, often in the form of a fermented food, such as homemade raw kefir or yogurt.

Dr Gabriel Cousins, at the Tree of Life Center, endorses the raw food plan as the ultimate healing diet, and offers 100% raw food meals at his healing retreat in Patagonia, Arizona. An important note when choosing a raw food diet: there is an issue of trade-offs. You might miss cooked foods, though you will not miss cancer. More times than not the raw food diet presents itself as an incredible tool that can be used to quickly transition from a serious health challenge into a healing process, ultimately resulting in greater health and well-being.

Supplements:

Coral Calcium – Coral calcium website

Vitamin D has been shown to be a key factor in healing cancer. Take Vitamin D3 50,000-100,000 International Units a day for a period of up to 4 weeks.
Wholefood supplements are the best way of ensuring your nutritional needs are met. The best we know on the market is Kevin Trudeau’s “KT Daily” product. You can find more details here.
Omega 3s:

Krill oil –

Fish oil

Cod liver oil

Vegetarian –

Hemp Seed Oil

Morter Supplements Trace Minerals
Selenium – an essential trace vitamin which acts as a deterrent against cancer in general.
Garlic – can help lower the risk of tumours
Vitamin C – found in citrus fruits, cantaloupe, green peppers – anti-cancer properties

Prescription and non-prescription medication:

What non-prescription and prescription drugs are you taking? Your non-prescription and prescription are partially the reason that you have this illness or disease – you need to get off these medications but do so only under the guidance of a licensed health care practitioner.

Mind

We know that when the body is out of balance, energy doesn’t flow, leading blockages and eventually disease. Here are some things you can do to combat stress and restore balance:

Go to a Dr Morter BEST (Bio-Energetic Synchronisation Technique) Practitioner.

Stephen Lewis – Find out more by clicking here.

– Find out more by clicking here.

Dr Callahan’s Tapping Techniques rogercallahan.com

Consider going to Hippocrates Health Centre, Century Wellness Centre in Reno & Sierra Integrated Medical in Reno

Consider using Mary Millers Iching System Products – ichingsystemsinstruments.com

Alphabiotics

Remedies

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Articles

Heal Your Body, Raise Your Consciousness (qigong for cancer) NC_Newsletter_12-08.pdf

The cause of all illness and disease: NC_Newsletter_10-07.pdf

Anti-cancer diet – NC_Newsletter_08-05.pdf

Guided imagery and visualisations – low cost solutions for pain relief: NC_Newsletter_07-04.pdf

Alkalinize your diet to get well now – book review NC_Newsletter_07-01.pdf

Live cell therapy (the fountain of youth is real) NC_Newsletter_06-11.pdf

Fluorinated water and cancer linked NC_Newsletter_06-09.pdf

Cure cervical cancer through diet, yoga and meditation: www.naturalnews.com/027867_cervical_cancer_yoga.html

Video

Cancer cleanse: www.detoxandcleansing.com/judy-seegercancer-cleanse-camp-cancer-natural-cures

Curing cancer using our own technology of emotion: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmMNlmn1DPc

Ayurveda and cancer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cusE4q7jAw0

Every cancer can be cured in weeks: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgbdNNfotwM

Research

Cervical cancer vaccine may not work but broccoli does: www.naturalnews.com/027463_cancer_cervical_vaccine.html

Papaya Leaf Extract powerful cervical cancer fighter: naturalsociety.com/papaya-leaf-extract-is-a-powerful-cancer-fighter

Complementary and alternative therapies in managing cancer: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.49.6.362/full

Anti-cancer benefit of white tea extract: nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/092110.htm

DMSO and cancer: www.naturalnews.com/037485_DMSO_inflammation_muscle_pain.html

Further Information (links and books)

Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine – Tori Hudson; You Can Heal Your Life – Louise L. Hay; Heal Your Body by Louise L. Hay; The Journey – Brandon Bays; The Acid Alkaline Food Guide – Dr. Susan Brown and Larry Trivieri, Jr; How I Said Bah! to cancer by Stephanie Butland; Thrive by Stephanie Butland; Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing – By Anita Moorjani; A Survivor’s Guide to Kicking Cancer’s Ass by Dena Mendes; Cancer [Audio Book] by Louise L. Hay; Deep Meditation for Healing [Audio Book] by Anita Moorjani; Cancer-Free: Your Guide to Gentle, Non-toxic Healing by Bill Henderson; Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillan.