Cervical cancer
is a disease that affects the lower portion of a female's uterus. At one time, cervical cancer was a major cause of cancer deaths in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, however, the death rate attributed to this disease declined by 74 percent between the years 1955 and 1992. This decline was due to the advent of screening for the disease in the form of an examination known as a Pap test, which detects cervical changes that can lead to cancer. Treatment for cervical cancer has also improved to the point where the disease's fatality numbers continue to lower each year.
Cryosurgery and laser beam surgery
Early stage cervical cancer describes the disease when it has not become too advanced and is contained within the cervix. The stage of any cancer is important in relation to the treatment that will be the most effective against it. Cryosurgery is used when cervical cancer is at Stage 0, a stage in which the cancer is only present on the surface lining of the cervix. During cryosurgery, a probe made of metal is super-cooled with liquid nitrogen and then placed in contact with the cervix at the point where the cancer exists, killing cancer cells as it freezes them. Laser surgery burns away cancer cells or destroys small areas of cancerous tissue using a highly focused beam; this form of treatment is also employed for Stage 0 cervical cancer.
Conization
A treatment for cervical cancer called conization is performed by removing a cone-shaped area of tissue with a surgical knife or with a laser knife. Thin wire that has been heated electrically is also utilized in some conization operations. Once the tissue is taken out, it is examined closely to determine if the edges are cancerous. This is relevant since additional surgery will be necessary if cancer cells are present in the outer edges, as this indicates there is still cancer left in the cervix. Conization is often the only surgical treatment used when the cancer is at Stage 1A1, a designation meaning the cancer is less than an eighth of an inch deep in the lining of the cervix and under a quarter inch in diameter. Conization is chosen by many women because it still allows them to have children if the treatment is successful as damage to the uterus is minimized.
Hysterectomy
Surgery that removes the uterus and cervix but no lymph nodes in the pelvic region is called a simple hysterectomy. This can be performed either through the woman's abdomen or vagina, with the latter procedure having a shorter recovery time. A simple hysterectomy is a surgical option for early stage cervical cancer. A radical hysterectomy removes the entire uterus as well as tissue near the uterus, the upper portion of the vagina and lymph nodes in the region of the pelvis. Cancer that has started to grow and can be easily seen--Stages 1A2 and B cervical cancer--are treated in this manner. A radical hysterectomy leaves the patient infertile and requires a hospital stay of up to a week.
Pelvic exenteration
When cervical cancer is recurrent, then a surgery called a pelvic exenteration may be performed. In addition to what is removed during a radical hysterectomy, the bladder, rectum, vagina and a portion of the large intestine are also taken out. Since the bladder and rectum are removed, the surgeon will utilize a segment of the intestine to form a new bladder that can be drained with a catheter, and he will fix what is left of the large intestine to the wall of the abdomen so that waste matter can pass through an opening in the abdomen and into a special bag.
Radiation therapy
When surgery for cervical cancer has been performed, there is often the need for radiation therapy to ensure that any remaining cancer cells are destroyed. Radiation is also a treatment choice when the cancer has spread beyond the cervix to other regions close by--Stages III and IVA. High-energy X-rays are used for this purpose, with treatments taking from six to seven weeks. External beam radiation therapy comes, as the name suggests, from an outside source--a special machine. Brachytherapy is a different form of radiation therapy for cervical cancer in which a radioactive substance is put into a small cylinder, which is then placed in the patient's vagina. Sometimes radioactive material will be inserted directly into tumors to shrink them. This type of therapy takes place in a hospital setting, and the radioactive material is only inserted for minutes each treatment and then taken out.
Chemotherapy
Drugs designed to kill cancerous cells are known as chemotherapy drugs. In advanced stages of cervical cancer, chemotherapy is used in addition to radiation therapy. The drugs will also do damage to normal cells, causing side effects such as nausea, vomiting, loss of hair, poor appetite and sores that develop in the mouth. Some of the more common chemotherapy drugs used to treat cervical cancer are paclitaxel, flourouracil and cisplatin. These drugs are either given through a vein in the patient or taken orally.
Tags: cervical cancer, cancer cells, radiation therapy, cervical cancer, radical hysterectomy, bladder rectum, cancer Stage