Doctor Shows Cervical Cancer Tumor In Video, Urges People To Get Pap Tests

A doctor shared a video of a cancerous tumor on TikTok to encourage young women to have a Pap test.

The video, which can be seen here, shows a uterus and the cancerous cervix attached to it and has been viewed over 80,000 times at the time of writing.

“I see what a disease can do, what it can do when left on for a long time,” said Paweł Ziora, the pathologist who shared the video. News week by email.

“What I find it hard to bear is that some of these diseases could be caught much, much sooner, causing much less damage.”

Viewers have reacted largely with shock, with some commentators proclaiming that while they find cervical cancer screening uncomfortable, the potential consequences of not having them are too great to ignore.

Cervical cancer is caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection.

At least 80 percent of women will have been infected with HPV by the time they turn 50, according to the CDC.

Most people’s immune systems are able to clear the virus naturally, but in some cases HPV can persist and when it does persist it can cause precancers which, if not detected and treated, can progress to cancer.

When cervical cancer is detected at an early stage, it is highly treatable and associated with long survival and a good quality of life, but if it is not, cancer could grow or develop. spread to other parts of the body.

Ziora, who is based at the Silesian Medical University in Zabrze, Poland, lost her father to undetected cancer, and doesn’t want other people to suffer like her family did.

“I am the first person related to medicine in my family and I know what non-doctors know and what they don’t know,” he said.

“My father died of undetected cancer of the large intestine, he never had a colonoscopy.”

A Pap test detects precancers, while an HPV test detects the virus that can cause these precancers.

Guidelines from the US Task Force on Preventive Services recommend that women begin getting tested every three years starting at age 21, and every five years thereafter.

During a screening test, a doctor will remove cells and mucus from the cervix and its surroundings, after using a plastic or metal tool called a speculum to enlarge the vagina.

A 2018 survey found that 35% of women aged 25 to 35 did not participate in embarrassment testing.

The HPV vaccine, recommended for people aged 11 to 26, may also offer protection against the virus, although it is less effective for adults.

“Even if only a few people start to self-assess, I’ll be happy,” said Ziora, who also posts videos on other ailments and illnesses.

“A lot of people are shocked that a tumor can look like the ones I’m showing. That’s fine, there is a chance to send a message. Some things can be avoided.”