Symptoms of vaginal cancer
This page is about the symptoms of vaginal cancer.
Symptoms of vaginal cancer
It is rare to have symptoms if you have very early stage vaginal cancer or the pre-cancerous changes called vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN). Your doctor may pick up signs of VAIN or very early vaginal cancer during a routine cervical smear. As with most cancers, this early stage disease is easy to treat successfully.
Although some early stage vaginal cancers may have symptoms, many do not until they are in the advanced stages. Possible symptoms include
- Bleeding between periods, after menopause or after sex.
- Vaginal discharge that smells or may be blood stained
- Pain during sexual intercourse
- A lump or growth in the vagina that you or your doctor can feel
- A vaginal itch that won’t go away
As well as the above, the following symptoms are more likely with advanced cancer of the vagina
- Constipation
- Pain when passing urine
- Swelling in your legs (oedema)
- Pain in the pelvic area that won’t go away
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the About vaginal cancer section.
It is rare to have symptoms if you have very early stage vaginal cancer or the precancerous changes called vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN). As many as 2 women in 10 (20%) diagnosed with vaginal cancer don’t have symptoms at all. Your doctor may pick up signs of VAIN or very early vaginal cancer during a routine cervical smear. As with most cancers, this early stage disease is easy to treat successfully.
Many vaginal cancers do not cause symptoms until they are in the advanced stages.
Overall, around 8 out of 10 women (80%) have one or more symptoms with vaginal cancer, including
- Bleeding when you are not having a period or after menopause - this is the most common symptom and you may have bleeding after sex
- Vaginal discharge that smells or is blood stained - about 3 out of 10 women (30%) have this symptom
- Pain during sexual intercourse
- A lump or growth in the vagina that you or your doctor can feel - up to 1 in 10 women (10%) have this
- A vaginal itch that won’t go away
Many of these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, such as infections.
As well as the above, the following symptoms are more likely with advanced cancer of the vagina
- Constipation
- Pain when passing urine
- Swelling in your legs (oedema)
- Pain in the pelvic area that won’t go away
If you have had your womb removed, (hysterectomy), you can still get cancer of the vagina. But this very uncommon. As you no longer have a cervix, you will no longer get invitations from your GP for regular cervical smears. But if you would like to carry on having check ups, you can ask your doctor to take smears from the top of your vagina (the ‘vaginal vault’). The path lab can examine the cells in the same way that they would a cervical smear.
Remember - cancer of the vagina is rare so if you have any of these symptoms it is more likely to be something else. But it is important that you report them to your doctor.
There is information in this section on when you should see a specialist for suspected vaginal cancer.
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