Vaginal cancer causes about 1% of cancers found in gynecological medical specialty in the Western world. The average age of diagnosis is around 60 to 65. Patients who presented before an infection with the human papillomavirus have a propensity to cancer of the vagina. It is the same for those who experienced a cancer of the cervix or vulva.

Exposure to diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy favors the development of cancer of the vagina. In other words, a child soaked by this substance during pregnancy of the mother tends, once adult, to develop cancer of the vagina. Vaginal cancer may disseminate (spread) or reach by direct extension in the vicinity of local tissue (near the vagina) or into adjacent organs such as rectum or bladder.
Vaginal cancer is also likely to invade the lymph nodes in the groin (root of the leg) from lesions at the bottom of the vagina. The cancer of the vagina may also transport malignant cells through the blood. The majority of vaginal cancers appear in the upper third of the organ to the posterior (located behind). The vagina is the passage through which the body expels the liquid during menstruation and through which a woman gives birth.
The vagina connects the cervix to the vulva. I say again, vaginal cancer is rare. Vaginal cancer is a cancer where cancerous cells are found in the tissues of the vagina. Women aged 60 to 70 years are most affected. However, this type of cancer can affect women at any age. Even if you had a hysterectomy, you can still run the risk of developing vaginal cancer. Like most cancers, it is best treated if found early.
Vaginal cancer symptoms - Some of the most common vaginal cancer symptoms include bleeding outside the menstrual cycles; Difficult or painful urination; Pain during intercourse; Pain in the pelvic area.
Examination - If cancer is suspected, your doctor may use several tests to verify its presence. These include an internal pelvic exam and pap smear. If unusual cells are found, your doctor will do a biopsy. Your doctor will look at not only the vagina but also other organs of the pelvis to see exactly where the cancer has been started and where it could spread. Your doctor can also perform a scan of the chest to see if the cancer has spread to the lungs.

Once the cancer is found, the options for therapy include surgery (the removal of the tumor), chemotherapy (which is the therapy with chemical that inhibit the growth of the tumor), and / or radiotherapy, which is the form of therapy that uses radiation, meant to stop the development of the tumor, reduce it or even, in some cases, eliminate it.