31 August 2023
This September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness month and Jo’s Trust are providing various different events and fundraisers to spread awareness of the disease. Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month | Campaigns (jostrust.org.uk). Williamsons Solicitors wanted to spread awareness of the disease to provide women, transgender males and non-binary individuals in the signs, symptoms and testing for such cancers.
What is Gynaecological Cancer?
Gynaecological cancer is any cancer that starts in the reproductive system of all individuals who are assigned female at birth. There are 5 different types of gynaecological cancer which include:
- Cervical Cancer
- Ovarian Cancer
- Womb/Uterine Cancer
- Vaginal Cancer
- Vulval Cancer
Cancer Research provide statistics on the above noting that there are approximately 3,200 new cervical cancer cases each year, 7,500 new ovarian cancer cases the UK each year, 9,700 new womb/uterine cancer cases each year making this the 4th most common cancer cases in the UK each year, 250 new vaginal cancer cases each year in the UK and 1,400 new vulval cancer cases in the UK every year.
Symptoms of Gynaecological Cancer
We at Williamsons would like to spread awareness of some of the signs and symptoms of gynaecological cancer, please see below:
Cervical Cancer
- Vaginal bleeding that’s unusual for you – including bleeding during or after sex, between your periods or after menopause, or having heavier periods than usual
- Changes to your vaginal discharge
- Pain during sex
- Pain in your lower back, between your hip bones (pelvis), or in your lower tummy
Ovarian Cancer
- A swollen tummy or feeling bloated
- Pain or tenderness in your tummy or the area between the hips (pelvis)
- No appetite or feeling full quickly after eating
- An urgent need to pee or needing to pee more often
- Indigestion
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Back pain
- Feeling tired all the time
- Losing weight without trying
- Bleeding from the vagina after the menopause
Womb Cancer
- Heavy periods from your vagina that is unusual for you
- Vaginal bleeding between your periods
- A change to your vaginal discharge
- Heavy periods from your vagina that is unusual for you
- Vaginal bleeding between your periods
- A change to your vaginal discharge
Vaginal Cancer
- A lump in the vagina
- Ulcers and other skin changes in or around the vagina
- Bleeding from the vagina after the menopause
- Bleeding after sex or pain during sex
- Smelly or bloodstained vaginal discharge
- Bleeding between periods
- An itch in your vagina that will not go away
- Pain when you pee, or needing to pee a lot
Vulval Cancer
- A persistent itch in the vulva
- Pain, soreness or tenderness in the vulva
- Raised and thickened patches of skin that can be red, white or dark
- A lump or wart-like growth on the vulva
- Bleeding from the vulva or blood-stained vaginal discharge between periods
- An open sore in the vulva
- A burning pain when peeing
- A mole on the vulva that changes shape or colour
Testing for gynaecological cancers depends on the specific type of cancer:
If you have any of the above symptoms, the first thing to do is to contact your GP and make an appointment with them. Your GP will ask you what your symptoms are, when you get them and whether anything makes them better or worse. Your GP may also want to do a physical examination and depending on your answers and examination result, may be referred to a specialist at the local hospital trust for further testing.
For cervical cancer, there is Cervical Screening which is a test that is offered to individuals aged between 25-64 years and is used to test for abnormal cells around the cervix. Following the cervical screening, you should receive your results within 2-6 weeks. This test is to look for the human papillomavirus, also known as HPV, which is a virus that sits within your cervix and can cause the cells to become abnormal and thereafter cancerous.
If you have normal results following cervical screening, you will have the next screening in 3-5 years’ time. If you have abnormal test results, the next steps are to be invited for a colposcopy for a closer look at the cervix and provide further information on whether you have cervical cancer. If the colposcopy is normal, you will be invited for your next smear the following year to ensure there are no further abnormal cells to be found. If your results are abnormal at the colposcopy, you will be invited for further tests in order to reach a diagnosis of cervical cancer.
If you are unable to attend a cervical screen or you are not yet within the age bracket to be offered a cervical screen, you can attend your GP practice for a review by your doctor. You should advise your doctor that you are worried that you may have cancer and this should prompt your doctor to provide full testing and reassurance.
For more information on the different types of gynaecological cancers and testing for the same, please visit the Cancer Research website: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/womens-cancer.
Treatment for gynaecological cancer
If you are found to have gynaecological cancer, the type of treatment you will require will depend on where the cancer started. Common treatment methods can include:
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Radiotherapy
The earlier you receive treatment for gynaecological cancer, the better the chance you have of the cancer being successfully treated. If there is a delay in diagnosis or treatment of gynaecological cancer, this can allow spread of the cancer and can affect the prognosis.
One such example of this was reported in the news recently, in which a 33-year-old individual had been advised following a smear test that she has abnormal cells within her cervix. Following a colposcopy, she was advised that these were nothing to worry about and was discharged from the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, being advised no further tests were required. Following her next cervical screen, 3 years later, it was found that she had to undergo further tests including an MRI and biopsy and was diagnosed with grade 2 carcinoma of the cervix. It was further found that the original smear test had been incorrectly reported as having borderline changes and that a biopsy at that stage would have confirmed pre-invasive cancer. Given that there was a delay in the diagnosis and treatment, the cancer progressed and she was required to have radical surgery to remove her cervix.
She thereafter brought a clinical negligence claim for this delay in diagnosis and treatment and she was awarded a 5 figure settlement, which she intends to use to help fund IVF in the hope of conceiving children. It was found that had the cancer been diagnosed the 3 years earlier, she would not have needed her cervix to be removed and she would have been able to conceive naturally in the future.
Our clinical negligence team have the skills, knowledge and experience to deal with delayed diagnosis of gynaecological cancer and our Clinical Negligence Team are happy to discuss, in confidence, a possible clinical negligence matter. If you feel you or someone you know has been affected by gynaecological cancer and you feel there has been a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of the same and would like to speak to one of our team please contact 01482 323697.
