Treatment of Cervical Cancer, Tips of Cancer

Treatment

Most often, treatment for cervical cancer involves surgery and radiation therapy. Sometimes, chemotherapy or biological therapy is used in the treatment of cervical cancer. Patients are often treated by a team of specialists. The team may include gynecologic oncologists and radiation oncologists.
The doctors may decide to use one treatment method or a combination of methods.
Some patients take part in a clinical trial (research study) using new treatment methods. Such studies are designed to improve cancer treatment.
Surgery is local therapy to remove abnormal tissue in or near the cervix. If the cervical cancer is only on the surface of the cervix, the doctor may destroy the cancerous cells in ways similar to the methods used to treat precancerous lesions.
 If the cervical cancer has invaded deeper layers of the cervix but has not spread beyond the cervix, the doctor may perform an operation to remove the tumor but leave the uterus and the ovaries. In other cases, however, a woman may need to have a hysterectomy or may choose to have this surgery, especially if she is not planning to have children in the future.
 In this procedure, the doctor removes the entire uterus, including the cervix; sometimes the ovaries and fallopian tubes also are removed. In addition, the doctor may remove lymph nodes near the uterus to learn whether the cancer has spread to these organs.
Radiation for Cervical Cancer (also called radiotherapy) uses high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing. Like surgery, radiation therapy is local therapy; the radiation can affect cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a large machine (external radiation) or from radioactive materials placed directly into the cervix (implant radiation). Some patients receive both types of radiation therap