Many women with any violations of the genitals tend to assume the worst and look for the first signs of cancer of the uterus. But this disease for a long time is asymptomatic.
Early signs of uterine cancer
Signs of endometrial cancer of the uterus at the initial stage of the disease are revealed in the medical examination long before the appearance of any symptomatology. At the same time, atypical cells will be detected in the Pap smear, blood on the cancer markers will show the presence of the disease, and other signs of the cancer of the uterus will be absent or symptoms of general malaise (fatigue, pain in the legs, frequent changes of mood), which can not reliably indicate for the presence of this disease.
But as the tumor grows, there will be disorders that can already be associated with the presence of atypical cells in the endometrium: discharge and bleeding. Discharge of mucous nature with an unpleasant odor and in large quantities - often this is the earliest signs of uterine cancer. But these are also signs of many inflammatory diseases, and not always the discharge is associated with a tumor.
In the menopause, any bleeding and spotting in women is a sign of cancer of the uterus. And in the reproductive age, bloody discharge is not always a sign of cancer, but also a symptom of other diseases of the uterus and ovaries - fibromyoma, endometrial dysplasia, ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, endometriosis, endometrial polyps .
It is possible to suspect oncology with prolonged bloody-purulent discharge with an unpleasant odor, frequent bleeding in the absence of other endometrial diseases and the uterus body. Signs of cancer - this combination of bloody discharge with watery and mucous, atypical and significant bleeding after having sex, physical exertion, minor injuries, often without concomitant pain syndrome.
Late signs of uterine cancer
To understand what signs of uterine cancer in the later stages, it is worth remembering that as the tumor grows, it not only grows inside the uterine cavity, but also sprouts into its body, where cancer cells can detach from the underlying tumor and metastasize: first to nearby and then into the distant lymph nodes.
In this case, signs of impaired lymph drainage are possible: swelling of mucous membranes, changes in their color, effusion of serous fluid into the abdominal cavity. Also, because of the growth of the tumor, the symptoms of intoxication increase: pain in the small pelvis, legs and lower back, aches in all parts of the body, general weakness, fatigue, headaches.
In the later stages, tumors can germinate into neighboring organs (in the ovaries, bladder, intestine, abdominal wall) causing urination and defecation, inflammatory symptoms in the pelvis, with the tumor growing on the abdominal wall, redness of the skin, abdominal changes, purulent inflammation tumor.
When the tumor disintegrates due to insufficient rapid growth of blood vessels into it and necrosis of its parts, there will also be symptoms of intoxication, bleeding of different intensity, pain and thrombosis of the vessels with tumor tissues.
The metastases of the tumor in other organs (most often in the ovaries, liver and bones) are also accompanied by symptoms of general exhaustion, and also cause disturbances in the work of those organs where secondary foci appear.
Diagnosis of uterine cancer
At the earliest stages of the disease, it is usually detected with Pap smear during gynecological examination. At later stages, the doctor may suspect cancer of the uterus enlargement, its heterogeneity, lack of mobility, often due to the absence of pain of other symptoms of inflammation, and the presence of bloody discharge.
To confirm the diagnosis, appoint additional methods of examination, for example, a blood test for oncomarkers. There are signs that make it possible to suspect cancer of the uterus and ultrasound examination: it is a heterogeneous, with fuzzy contours formation in the uterus, sometimes with calcifications, with increased circulation, growing into other tissues and organs.
In addition, histological examination after diagnostic curettage of the uterine cavity, general clinical tests, and examination of other organs and systems for the presence of metastases are used for diagnostic purposes.