>>JENNIFER WAUGH: THIS MORNING, WE WANT TO HELP YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND THE RISKS
AND WARNING SIGNS OF THE 3
MOST COMMON GYNECOLOGICAL
CANCERS IN WOMEN. DOCTOR
DANIEL BEEN RUBY IS WITH U.S.
HEALTH AND IS JOINING US THIS
MORNING IN STUDIO. GOOD
MORNING, DOC. THANKS FOR BEING
WITH US. GOOD MORNING,
JENNIFER. THANK YOU FOR HAVING
ME. YOU KNOW, WE’VE TALKED A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS AND
THERE ARE 3 IN PARTICULAR. I
MEAN, FIRST IN IN NO SPECIFIC
ORDER, THE MOST COMMON CANCER
GYNECOLOGICAL CANCER IS
ENDOMETRIAL OR UTERINE CANCER.
ARE THERE ANY WARNING SIGNS
THAT ARE FEMALE VOICE OF
VIEWERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF?
YES, THERE ARE THE MOST COMMON
IS ABNORMAL BLEEDING FOR OLDER
WOMEN THAT HAVE ALREADY GONE
THROUGH MENOPAUSE AND HAVEN’T
HAD A PERIOD IN MORE THAN A
YEAR, ANY BLEEDING. THAT
HAPPENS AFTER THAT IS
CONSIDERED ABNORMAL AND A
WOMAN SHOULD SEE A GYNECOLOGIC
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER. WE NEED
TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS NOT
A UTERINE CANCER OR PRE CANCER
AND THAT BLEEDING NEEDS TO BE
EXPLAINED AS TO WHY THAT’S
HAPPENING BECAUSE ANY BLEEDING
AFTER MENOPAUSE IS NOT NORMAL.
AND FOR YOUNGER WOMEN THAT
HAVE NOT YET GONE THROUGH
MENOPAUSE, THEY NEED TO BE ON
THE LOOKOUT FOR ANY HEAVY
BLEEDING DURING PERIODS OR
BLEEDING IN BETWEEN THEIR
MENSTRUAL CYCLES. AS THAT ALSO
CAN BE ABNORMAL, ESPECIALLY
YOUNGER WOMEN WHO MAY BE
OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE AS THOSE
ARE RISK FACTORS FOR
ENDOMETRIAL CANCER AND UTERINE
CANCER. AND, DOCTOR, THERE ARE
SOME WOMEN WHO MAY BE STILL
MAY BE TAKING SOME KIND OF MET
OF MEDICATION THAT PREVENTS
THEM FROM HAVING ANY KIND OF
MENTION WILL CYCLE A GIVEN
THAT THEY MAY NOT BE AWARE OF
THE FACT THAT THEY COULD THAT,
YOU KNOW, HAVE AN ISSUE
ASSOCIATED WITH EITHER OF
THESE CANCERS. IS THERE SOME
KIND OF TEST THAT THEY CAN
UNDERGO IT? PERHAPS IF THEY
ARE CONSIDERED HIGH RISK THAT
WOULD IDENTIFY THIS TYPE OF
CANCER EARLIER.
>> SO THERE’S NOT A UNIVERSAL
SCREENING TEST. HOWEVER, IF
THERE ARE OTHER SYMPTOMS SUCH
AS ABDOMINAL PAIN OR BLOATING,
OR IF THERE ARE ISSUES THAT A
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER DETECTS,
THERE ARE TESTS THAT CAN BE
DONE IN A BIOPSY THAT CAN
ACTUALLY BE DONE IN THE CLINIC
AS OPPOSED TO THE OPERATING
ROOM, COULD HELP DETECTED. BUT
THE KEY THING IS FOR WOMEN TO
SEE HER HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
IN ORDER TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: SO OF THE
NEXT MOST COMMON IS OVARIAN
CANCER. THIS IS CONSIDERED A
SILENT KILLER. WHY IS THAT?
>> SO CANCER AT ONE OF THE
TOUGHEST CANCERS FOR US AND UN
ONCOLOGY TO TREAT BECAUSE ITS
SYMPTOMS FIT WITH SO MANY
OTHER SYMPTOMS. OFTEN TIMES
THE SYMPTOMS FOR OVARIAN
CANCER ARE BLOATING. ABDOMINAL
PAIN GETTING FULL EARLY WHEN
YOU EAT AND HAVING A FEELING
THAT YOUR WAISTLINE IS
INCREASING AND THOSE ARE ALL
THINGS THAT A LOT OF WOMEN AND
EVEN SOME DOCTORS WILL SORT OF
CHALKED OFF TO TO
GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS. BUT
IF THERE’S NOT A QUICK
RESOLUTION TO THOSE SYMPTOMS
AND IF THEY CONTINUE AND IF
THAT CAN’T BE EXPLAINED WITH G
WERE CUPS THEN VARYING CANCER
NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT’S
ON EVERYONE’S MIND.
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: ARE THERE
ANY GENETICS INVOLVED? YOU
KNOW, THAT SHOULD INCREASE,
YOU KNOW, MAYBE A YOU KNOW,
MAYBE NOT JUST YEARLY, BUT
EVEN SOONER THAN THAT EXAMS
ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER FAMILY
HISTORY. CERTAINLY FAMILY
HISTORY IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WITH
OVARIAN CANCER AS THERE ARE.
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: PEOPLE THAT
CARRY GENETIC MUTATIONS SUCH
AS BR CA MUTATIONS, WHICH
AFFECTS BOTH BREAST CANCER AND
OVARIAN CANCER AS WELL AS
LYNCH SYNDROME. SO IF YOU HAVE
A FAMILY HISTORY OF ANYONE
THAT HAS HAD BREAST OR OVARIAN
CANCER, YOU NEED TO SPEAK WITH
YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT SOME GENETIC
SCREENING. SO THERE IS ANOTHER
COMMON CANCER. WE TALKED A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS WHEN YOU
JOINED US ABOUT A WEEK AND A
HALF AGO AND THIS CAN ACTUALLY
BE CAUGHT EARLY. IT’S CERVICAL
CANCER AND IT CAN BE CALLED
WITH THAT ESSENTIALLY YEARLY
EXAM.
>> THAT’S CORRECT. SO CERVICAL
CANCER, YOU KNOW, MANY OF US
SAY THAT NO WOMAN SHOULD GET
OR DIE OF CERVICAL CANCER. AND
THAT’S BECAUSE WE HAVE A GOOD
SCREENING TEST. THE PAP SMEAR
HAS BEEN AROUND FOR AGES AND
IT’S STILL AN EXCELLENT WAY TO
SCREEN.
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: AND THEN
ALSO IT, YOU CAN ESSENTIALLY
WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE
OF CERVICAL CANCER BY SIMPLY
GETTING VACCINATED. AND WE’RE
TALKING ABOUT THE HPV, WHICH
IS AVAILABLE TO TO YOUNGER
PEOPLE, TO TO GIRLS AT THIS
POINT AS WELL AS BOYS.
>> THAT’S IT’S IMPORTANT TO TO
CONSIDER, BUT GETTING BOTH
BOYS AND GIRLS VACCINATED AS
THAT CAN PREVENT THE
OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF HPV
INFECTIONS THAT CAN CAUSE THIS
CANCER. THE OTHER THING THAT
KIDS CAN DO IS TO NOT START
SMOKING AS SMOKING AS A RISK
FACTOR FOR CERVICAL CANCER AS
WELL.
>>JENNIFER WAUGH: AND I DO
WANT TO POINT OUT, ARE THERE
ANY SIDE EFFECTS THAT YOU’RE
AWARE OF? BECAUSE HAVE
DISCUSSED THIS PREVIOUSLY.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PARENTS
THAT FOR FOR WHATEVER REASON
ARE HESITANT ABOUT ALLOWING
THEIR 11 OR 12 YEAR-OLD TO GET
THE HPV VACCINE.
>> SO THESE VACCINES HAVE BEEN
AROUND SINCE 2006. THERE WILL
STUDY THERE HAVE BEEN NO MAJOR
ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS FOR THESE
VACCINES.