About Cervical cancer?

I would just like to know, how you can check yourself, or how a doctor checks you for cervical cancer.

How is this cancer caused?

What procedure is taken to see if you do have it (smear?)?

How do i prevent it (jab etc)?

Also, will it look 'wrong' on my health records?

easiest & simplest way is pap smear taken from the cervix. typically, every woman should do it once every 2 years. cervical cancer takes *years* (maybe up to ten years!!!) without being invasive (attacking other organs). this is called CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia). so it can be detected easily through the cervical pap smear (a brush (like Q-tip of removing ear wax) swaps the cervix of a female to be examined microscopically. have a look:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...

if u are talking how could you notice it? sorry, this will be late. as the smear detects it while still in the epithelium. to feel symptoms like dysuria, contact bleeding,...etc means LATE!!

treatment if early is just cautery of the affected area. late cases with removing the uterus, more advanced cases by larger destructive operations where bladder & rectum may be removed!!! (or indeed radiotherapy in many cases is good)

i don't think it will look bad on your health records. (not sure what do u mean?)

preventing it by early detection by regular smears every year (or every 2 years).

this cancer is caused by metaplasia of "reserve cells"... Anyway, it is common in females around 40 years. other risk factors is early involvement in a sexual intercourse, or multiple sexual partners (prostit*tes). also chronic irritation of the cervix by repeated infections (cervicitis) for years may cause dysplasia of cells.

send me if you have other questions. i already finished my Gyna course.
peace :)

You can't check yourself for cervical cancer only a gyno can. I would advise you to have your annual check ups (paps) with the gyno to be clear of any diseases. Cervical cancer has many causes but a common one is through HPV (human papilloma virus) which is an STD. HPV is only found in women and can only be tested in women, although men are carriers, there is no current test/symptoms to determine whether men have this disease or not. There are no cures for this disease. In order to determine whether you have HPV, a test is done called a colposcopy, which is slightly painful, more uncomfortable than anything. A biopsy is often done to determine the level of HPV you may have, there are 3. Although there is no cure for this STD, there is a new vaccine called Gardasil that can be taken for women, Dr.'s suggest females start taking this shot before one becomes sexually active. The ages between 9-26 is highly recommended. This shot, taken 3 times only prevents the chances of HPV, it does not cure it. Depending on the level of HPV you are tested with, 1 being the lowest grade, 3 being the highest grade which is more commonly able to develop into cervical cancer, there is a high possibility that this virus will go away on its own within the time span of 2 yrs. I would highly recommend you to get checked to make sure you are clear of any chance of getting cervical cancer.

I think that only a specialist can answer you this questions! I dont't think there is a method to check yourself for it! Only a specialist can do that!