Cervical Cancer Blog Two aka The Biology Lesson

In my rather creatively titled ‘blog post one’ on cervical cancer (can be found here for the interested) I gave an explanation as to how stupid I have been. In said post I also mentioned that I was lucky. This may seem like an odd word for someone to describe herself as when she has just received a cancer diagnosis but I will elaborate on this in another post soon.

I also mentioned that I would expand on cervical cancer symptoms because in my case these and ‘luck’ go hand in hand.

But first….

Hehehehe. Ahem. Sorry. But look it has a little smiley face…Ahem. Anyway. Sorry. I wanted to interrupt my own blog with a quick biology lesson. Back when I was at university I volunteered as a sexual health worker at a youth centre. I still consider it to be one of the most rewarding thing I have ever done. During my training, I learnt a lot about the female and male reproductive organs, more than what information was ever presented at school, so I feel like I knew quite a bit about uteruses and cervixes anyway. Whilst me and my partner were telling friends and family about my diagnosis we noticed that one thing, or more precisely, one question cropped up from time to time. ‘What is it?’

Now this question was asked by both men and women and one friend mentioned to me that she didn’t know an awful lot about her own biology and her own reproductive organs. This is not her fault, not even a little, and is more indicative about the lack of education we receive on this subject. If we try and encourage women to attend more of their cervical screenings does it stand to reason that we need to also explain the importance of, oh I don’t know, the organ which we are screening?

One of the reasons that women may not attend their screenings could be simply that they don’t know the significance of what is going on down there. So this is biology….Gerry stylee.  I even drew myself teaching a class using Paint! Look, you continue reading this you’ve just to deal with the fact that I love Paint.

What is cancer?

I would be surprised if anyone didn’t know what this it. I think children are now aware of what this is. I was thinking back to if there was ever a time where I didn’t know what cancer was. Honestly? I genuinely couldn’t. Maybe this is because there is more exposure now to cancer and people are more open to discussions (a good thing) or maybe, just maybe, it’s because there isn’t a person amongst us who doesn’t know someone who hasn’t been diagnosed.

The NCI (National Cancer Institute) defines cancer as abnormal cells that divide without control and can invade nearby tissue. Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body.

Gerry’s explanation of cancer: It’s a fucktard of a disease. Just one day, out of the blue, something inside your body goes directly against what your body is supposed to do. It’s one of those things that just happens. It doesn’t select through age, sex, sexuality, race, whether you are a good person or a shit-head that eats with their mouth open and talks through the good bits in movies. It doesn’t know, it doesn’t care. Cancer doesn’t think. It just exists and, through its own existence, destroys.

Sorry, I can’t make cancer sound fun. It isn’t. Not for the people that have it and not for the people who love someone who has ever had it.

What is a cervix (and all those other bits)?

Here is a lovely diagram of the female reproductive organs. I opted not to use Paint for this as I feel my talents may not represent it all faithfully.

Gerry explanation:-

Ovaries – two of these, egg producing machines. Fun fact – baby girls are born with all the eggs that they will ever have inside their bodies. Males start producing sperm during puberty and pretty much become sperm making machines for a very, very long time. Females have them already stocked but there is a limited supply hence the menopause. When the eggs start running out and the ovaries stop producing hormones to release them; menopause starts. Important. Prone to numerous problems. Can develop cancer.

Fallopian tubes ­– two of these. Acts as the transport system to get the egg from the ovary into the uterus. The egg gets fertilised in the fallopian tube but doesn’t implant there. Important. An egg can implant there. If this happens then there are all sorts of problems. Can develop cancer.

Uterus – one of these…although in some rare and random medical cases apparently there can be two. Huh. Go figure. Supposed to be pear shaped but some women may have different shaped ones which, guess what, can cause problems. In basic terms this is where the baby lives during pregnancy. Important. Prone to many problems. Can develop cancer.

Cervix ­– one of these. Latin for ‘neck’ as it connects the uterus to the vagina. Controls what goes in and out of the uterus (sperm, blood, babies) and is vital in the role of pregnancy and childbirth. Aka stops the baby falling out and then opens massively to make sure the baby can get out. You know in medical shows when women in childbirth have their knees up to their ears and are screaming blue murder and a doctor is yelling ‘she’s ten centimetres dilated…push…push….PUSH!!!!’ yeah they are referring to the cervix. Prone to many problems. Can develop cancer.

Vagina –  one of these. Most people know what this is. Important for periods, childbirth and sexy times. Prone to many problems. Can develop cancer.

As you can see it’s a scary, complex and fascinating world down there. We women have a lot going on!

What is cervical cancer?

I thought I would leave this bit to the professionals. This link does a brilliant job of explaining what cervical cancer is, as well as listing causes, risk factors and how to reduce your risk – https://www.jostrust.org.uk/about-cervical-cancer/cervical-cancer.

I need to take a moment also to highlight how wonderful Jo’s Trust is. A lot of the information that I need, that I haven’t necessarily been able to get from nurses or doctors, I have found here so take a moment or two and give it its due.

Gerry’s explanation of cervical cancer: It’s a fucktard of a disease.

Here endeth the biology lesson. See you soon.