Cervical cancer, if detected early, is curable.
Early detection of cervical cancer can greatly improve the rate of survival and reduce the risk of infertility. The five-year survival rate for very early-stage cervical cancer is almost 100 percent. On the other hand, the five-year survival rate for stage IV cervical cancer is merely 15 to 20 percent.
Noninvasive cervical cancer can be removed by surgery.
If cervical cancer confines to the outside layer, it can be removed by various surgical procedures. Often, no additional treatments are required if the cancer is completely removed. The most common procedures for removing noninvasive cervical cancer are conization (also known as cone biopsy), laser surgery, loop electrosurgical excision procedure, cryosurgery and hysterectomy. Hysterectomy is a surgical procedure that removes not only the cancer, but also the cervix and the uterus.
Hysterectomy is used to treat early-stage invasive cancers.
Invasive cervical cancers are defined as cancers that spread beyond the outer layer of the cervix and might metastasize to other organs.
The treatment options for invasive cervical cancer includes hysterectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Hysterectomy is applicable if the cancer has not invaded beyond 3 mm into the cervix. Radical hysterectomy is recommended for cancers that invade deeper than 3 mm into the cervix. Radical hysterectomy involves removal of the uterus, the cervix, some part of the vagina and affected neighboring lymph nodes. Women undergoing hysterectomy will not be able to have children in the future. Recovery from hysterectomy may take up to two months.
Late-stage cervical cancer requires radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy for cervical cancer can be delivered by two methods: external beam radiation and brachytherapy. Brachytherapy involves placing radioactive sources close to the cancer. In some cases, both external beam radiation and brachytherapy are used to treat cervical cancer.
Alternatively, patients with advanced cervical cancers can be treated with chemotherapy by injecting drugs that are designed to kill cancer cells.
Both radiation therapy and chemotherapy have serious side effects and might cause infertility.
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