UTERINE CANCER
Cancer is a disease in which cells
in the body grow out of control. Cancer is always named
for the part of the body where it starts, even if it
spreads to other body parts later. When cancer starts
in the uterus, it is called uterine cancer. The uterus
is the pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis (the area
below your stomach and in between your hip bones). The
uterus, also called the womb, is where the baby grows
when a woman is pregnant. The most common type of uterine
cancer is also called endometrial cancer because it forms
in the lining of your uterus, called the endometrium.
When uterine cancer is found early,
treatment is most effective. The most common sign of
uterine cancer is bleeding that is not normal for you
because of when it happens or how heavy it is. This could
mean bleeding, even a little bit, after you have gone
through menopause; periods that are longer than seven
days; bleeding between periods; or any other bleeding
that is longer or heavier than is normal for you.
Other symptoms, such as pain or pressure
in your pelvis, also may occur if you have uterine cancer.
If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor,
nurse, or other health care professional right away.
They may be caused by something other than cancer, but
the only way to know is to see your health care professional.
Know your risk
All women are at risk for uterine
cancer, but the risk increases with age. Most uterine
cancers are found in women who are going through or who
have gone through menopause—the time of life when your
menstrual periods stop. In 2004,* 36,981 women in the
United States were told that they had uterine cancer,
making it the fourth most common cancer in women.†
Learn more by downloading the
CDC's Inside Knowledge campaign's uterine cancer
fact sheet (pdf-286KB) please click here
on-line tools
Uterine cancer (also called endometrial cancer)
is one of the most common cancers in women. But
there are steps women can take to help protect
themselves. To estimate your risk of uterine cancer
and learn about ways to lower that risk, take a
few minutes to answer some questions about your
health, background, and lifestyle. To take the
questionnaire online please
click here
MedlinePlus will direct you to
information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus
brings together authoritative information from NLM,
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other
government agencies and health-related organizations.
MedlinePlus also has extensive information about
drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive
patient tutorials, and latest health news. Please
make sure you check the MedlinePlus online for unterine
cancer with an extensive, constantly updated resource
list. Please
click here
Unterine Cancer RESOURCES
on-line
The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and
the American Cancer Society (ACS) among
others, provide many on-line cancer resources.
Please make sure you visit their constantly updated
websites, reflecting the latest scientific findings
and visit the links for more information about
cervical cancer.
More details, including medically
graphic images, can be found at:
website
for uterine cancer. Please
click here
has up-to-date information for patients
and practitioners about unterine cancer. To go to NCI
main web page please
click here
is
the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization
dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem
by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing
suffering from cancer, through research, education,
advocacy, and service.. To get to the ACS
unterine cancer information pages please
click here
Printed materials to download
This section has
pdf (Adobe Acrobat format) files of useful resources
created by various agencies that can be downloaded
directly from the pacificcancer.org website. The
organization, year of publication and size of the
pdf file are listed.
a
publications form the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) Inside Knowledge Campaign. This basic
two-page fact sheet (pdf
286KB) describes the parts of the uterus
and answers common questions about uterine cancer please
click here
published
by NCI informs about possible causes, screening,
symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care.
Including ideas about how to cope with the
disease. NCI
2006, 44 pages (pdf 468K). To download the pdf file please
click here
ASCO Answers is
a series of fact sheets that provides an introduction
to a specific type of cancer. Each fact sheet is a
PDF that includes an overview of what the cancer is,
an illustration of where the cancer starts, how it
is treated, terms to know, and questions to ask the
doctor.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2008. 2 pages (pdf 292K). To download
the pdf please
click here.
Acknowledgment: This text is adapted
from the CDC website.
†U.S.
Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer
Statistics: 2004 Incidence and Mortality. Atlanta (GA):
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute;
2007.
*The most recent year for which statistics are currently
available.
