Symptoms of uterine cancer

Do you know what uterine cancer is? If you don’t then its time to find out first symptoms of uterine cancer! Uterine cancer is a really sneaky disease affecting about 40,100 patients in the US and causing deaths of about 7,470 patients per year. Here are a few important details you should know about the disease.

symptoms of uterine cancer:

Uterine cancer often is a slow growing cancer which builds up over a few years the best symptom you will have is abnormal bleeding from the vagina during and after the menstrual cycle. 90% of the cases of uterine cancer are seen in postmenopausal women, whose periods have stopped. But it is seen in pre-menopausal women too.

• Extended  periods or bleeding during menstruation as well as between them
• Extremely frequent vaginal bleeding and increased spotting  which  will increase up to the years of menopause
• Extra bleeding in the years of menopause when bleeding is supposed to stop or be negligible.
• Constant  discharge from the vagina
• Extreme cramping pelvic pain which increases during menstruation and bodily aches.
• Pain and fatigue accompanied with sudden weight loss.

Causes of uterine cancer:

As with any cancer the exact reason of why the cells turn cancerous are not very well known but a few common reasons which can predispose to cancer are:

• Early menstruation before the age of 12 and a late menopause until the age of 50s, increases the risk of uterine cancer in older women. The greater the number of years you have periods, higher the exposure of your uterine to estrogen the greater the chances of developing cancer.
• Pregnancy is a great protection against uterine cancer, but researchers are not really sure how it works out to protect the endometrium against cancer. The body is supposed to produce more estrogen during pregnancy which should increase the tendency for cancer but the amount of progesterone increases too. This might protect against uterine cancer. But it’s a proven fact that women a larger exposure to estrogen are at an increased risk of uterine cancer. This is also possible in women who are taking HRT or hormone replacement therapy for menopause.
• Ovulation is also regulated by monthly fluctuating levels of estrogen. Irregular ovulation or no ovulate increases the exposure of your uterine tissue to estrogen and this can cause problems. Excess levels of estrogen without pregnancy can definitely predispose to cancers
• Ovaries are the main source of estrogen but secondary sources are also present. Fat tissue is also responsible for production of a small amount of estrogen. Obesity will increase the production of estrogen in your body, causing a higher risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer as well as uterine and other cancers.
• Diabetes and obesity often go hand in hand and its always a good idea to keep a close eye on your weight as well as your sugar levels to make sure they are under control.