Cervical Cancer

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Cervical Cancer Treatment

Treatment of cervical cancer depends on the type of cancer, the stage, the size and shape of the tumor, the age and general health of the woman, and her desire for future childbearing.

In its earliest stages, the disease is curable by removing or destroying the pre-cancerous or cancerous tissue. This can often be done in various ways without removing the uterus or damaging the cervix so that a woman is still capable of having children.

In other cases, a simple removal of the uterus (hysterectomy) is performed, with or without removal of the ovaries. In more advanced disease, a radical hysterectomy may be performed which removes the uterus and much of the surrounding tissues, including internal lymph nodes. In the most extreme surgery, called a pelvic exenteration, all of the organs of the pelvis, including the bladder and rectum, are removed.

Radiation or chemotherapy may be used to treat cancer that has spread beyond the pelvis, or has recurred. There are two kinds of radiation treatment: a device loaded with radioactive pellets which is placed into the vagina near the cancer and kept in place for a certain period of time, or an external device which beams radiation into the target areas during visits to the radiotherapist. A variety of chemotherapeutic drugs, or combinations of them, are used. Sometimes radiation and chemotherapy are used before or after surgery.