Knowing Most Common Cancers Affecting Women
Knowing Most Common Cancers Affecting Women
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death for both men and women. However, there are some cancers that frequent most commonly among women. Below statistics shows some of the most common cancers affected women in 2020 with breast cancer contributing 24.5% of the total number of new cases diagnosed.
The reason varies from cancer to cancer. There are women in India, who still do not have enough access to proper medical care and early diagnosis of cancer.
Let us read through the most common cancers among women.
1. Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer amongst women across the world. While there’s no one definitive cure to prevent breast cancer, being aware of common risk factors of breast cancer can help you with early diagnosis and treatment.
The survival rate for people who receive early diagnosis of breast cancer is 99%. 40 is the age at which women should start getting annual mammograms.
2. Colon and Rectal Cancer
A woman’s odds of getting colon or rectal cancer are 1 in 24. While colon and rectal cancers can occur in young adults and teenagers, the majority of cases are diagnosed in adults ages 50 and over. There are several other risk factors other than age, including:
- Family history
- Smoking
- Heavy drinking
- Diet high in red or processed meat
- Obesity or overweight
- Type 2 diabetes
3. Cervical Cancer
HPV or Human Papilloma Virus causes cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among the Indian women. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of cervical cancer among rural women, happens at very late stage. Also, the awareness of cervical cancer in India is very limited.
Women with age over 30 are highly recommended to get screened once in every 5 years for early detection of cervical cancer.
4. Uterine Cancer
Unlike cervical cancer, it’s not one of the gynecological cancers caused by HPV. Uterine cancer (also known as endometrial cancer) is cancer in the lining of the uterus — the endometrium. Hormonal changes, particularly related to estrogen, play a significant role in your risk for uterine cancer.
Hormone levels are affected by: taking estrogen after menopause, birth control pills, higher number of menstrual cycles, never becoming pregnant, being obese and having certain ovarian tumors.
5. Oral Cancer
Globally, oral cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer with India contributing to almost one-third of the total burden and the second country having the highest number of oral cancer cases. This makes Indian women more frequently diagnosed with the oral cancers compared to the women from other parts of the world. Most of the mouth cancer or oral cancer cases are lifestyle related.
Tobacco consumption including smokeless tobacco, betel-quid chewing, excessive alcohol consumption, unhygienic oral condition, and sustained viral infections that include the human papillomavirus are some of the risk aspects for the incidence of oral cancer.
Wrapping Up…
Most cancers take years to develop and many things affect your chance of getting cancer. You can control many risk factors except the one like getting older. So make all the lifestyle improvements you can which involves from choosing a healthy diet to exercise habits.
Taking care of risk factors will increase your health and reduce your risk of getting these common cancers among women.