The Best Ways to Fight Cervical Cancer

Almost all cervical cancers begin with pre-cancerous cell changes in the cervix. Not all women who experience pre-cancerous changes will develop cervical cancer. There are generally no symptoms of cervical cancer, which is why it is important for a woman to have a yearly Pap smear. Fatalities are mostly limited to women who can't afford their yearly gynecological examination. If you are diagnosed with cervical cancer, there are a number of ways to fight it.

Fighting Early Stage Cervical Cancer

• Early stage cervical cancer is considered to be either carcinoma in situ (CIS), which some consider pre-cancer, or stage 1A1 or 1A2. Whether or not you want to have children will determine the type of treatment you will want to have to fight the cancer. For CIS, there are many procedures that can be performed, such as laser surgery, a LEEP procedure, cold knife conization and cryosurgery. For those with stage 1A1 or 1A2 cervical cancer, the same procedures may be used. A cone biopsy is another procedure that can be used in both of these early stages for those who still wish to have children. A cone biopsy will remove the cancerous growth and your doctor must watch you closely to ensure the cancer does not re-grow.

  For women who are done having children, a hysterectomy is often recommended to prevent the cancer from continuing to grow and spread to other areas of the body. Even if one of the other options is chosen, it is generally recommended that after you are done having children, you have a hysterectomy. The type of hysterectomy you have will depend on how deep the cancer is within the cells of your cervix. Even after the hysterectomy, it is important in some cases, especially for those whose cervical cancer was caused by HPV, to have routine check-ups to allow the doctor to closely monitor you. Even after a hysterectomy, it is possible, but rare, for the cancerous cells to re-grow, affecting the vagina or other surrounding tissues and lymph nodes.

  In stage 1B1 and 1B2, a radical hysterectomy is recommended. This type of hysterectomy removes the uterus, cervix, ovaries and lymph nodes in the pelvic region. At this stage, most doctors will also recommend the removal of other lymph nodes as well. Following the hysterectomy, you may undergo radiation and/or chemotherapy as well.

Other Stages

• Stages two and three of cervical cancer are treated much more aggressively than early stage cervical cancer. A hysterectomy combined with radiation and/or chemotherapy is generally used to fight cervical cancer at this stage. Radiation is often administered through brachytherapy or seeding. Lymph nodes often must be removed at these stages because there is normally some involvement. After removal, lymph nodes are generally tested to look for cancer. If cancer is detected in the pelvic lymph nodes, you should be examined in other areas of the body to ensure the cancer has not spread and then monitored closely thereafter.

Late Stage Cancer

• Similar to most cancers that progress, if cervical cancer is detected in stage four, it is considered incurable. At stage four, the cancer has definitely spread to other areas of the body. The fight at this point focuses on shrinking the tumor to prolong your life and improve your quality of life. This is done through radiation and chemotherapy.