About Radiation Therapy Treatment for Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is nearly 100 percent curable when identified and treated in the early stages. Radiation therapy is one of the most effective ways to treat cervical cancer in the early stages. Radiation oncologists can administer radiation therapy externally, internally and in combination. Since 1940, with the introduction of the pap test--a routine pelvic exam for women over a certain age and those who exhibit risk factors-- incidents of cervical cancer that result in death has plummeted by 75 percent.

Early Diagnosis and Prevention

• Cervical cancer grows slowly; that's why annual pelvic exams are so effective in detecting it early. Cervical cancer begins with normally healthy cells in the cervix -- the inch-long canal at the lower end of the uterus that connects to the back end of the vagina -- begin to mutate, developing abnormally. While cervical cancer is highly treatable, more than a third of the women diagnosed with the disease each year die from it, with nearly 4,500 cervical cancer deaths per year. Those who succumb to the disease often failed to get preventative screening; many die because the cancer was not discovered early enough to treat effectively.

Stages of Cervical Cancer

• Changes to the cervix at the cellular level often present the first indication of cervical cancer. While cellular mutations are not necessarily cancerous, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), or cervical dysplasia, is often detected in women prior to a cervical cancer diagnosis.
  Noninvasive carcinoma, a very early form of cervical cancer, affects only the outer layer of cervical cells. If left untreated the cancer penetrates deeper into the cervix and the cancer becomes much more difficult to treat.
  Even the more advanced form of cervical cancer, known as invasive cervical cancer (ICC) is still almost 100 percent curable if caught before it penetrates the cervix too deeply or spreads to other organs. At this stage, cancer has penetrated deep into the cervix and possibly into neighboring tissues and organs. If not diagnosed before it reaches a severe level of penetration and spreads beyond the reproductive tract, invasive cervical cancer kills 95 percent of those afflicted.

Radiation Therapy for Cervical Cancer

• The most effective way to eradicate cervical cancer is to excise the cancerous cells before they penetrate beyond the lining of the cervix. To do this effectively, radiation therapy is a common form of treatment. When a patient's cervical cancer is more advanced, radiation therapy is often used in combination with chemotherapy. Radiation oncologists administer radiation therapy both internally and externally and sometimes administer both forms simultaneously when treating patients with more advanced cervical cancer.

External Radiation Therapy

• External radiation therapy is administered using a machine that aims x-rays at the body, commonly referred to as EBRT, to abbreviate external beam radiation therapy. This is a Monday-through-Friday outpatient procedure that takes place over the course of 4 to 6 weeks.
  EBRT requires extensive planning before the treatment sessions begin. Often oncologists prepare a plan to line up the radiation beam to specifically target the cervical cancer from multiple directions. Sometimes ECRT is used to treat cervical cancer for several weeks, then at the end of the treatment it is supplemented by a blast of internal radiation (described below) that is inserted into the cervix directly.

Internal Radiation Therapy

• Implant radiation, or brachytherapy, requires inserting small capsules of radioactive material directly into the cervix. This method of cervical cancer treatment radiates the the cervical cancer directly and minimizes the unnecessary radiation exposure of other organs. Implant radiation involves inserting a small radioactive device into the cervix, via the vagina, which remains inside the patient for one to three days. This is not an ongoing treatment and is usually preformed no more than twice during the patient's treatment. Patients remain in the hospital while the radioactive device is inside them.
  Some hospitals are transitioning to a newer mode of internal radiation treatment, called high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. This treatment is more intense and performed more frequently. The patient undergoes radiation therapy for between 30 minutes to an hour up to five times during the course of treatment.

Side Effects

• Radiation treatment itself is not painful; however, patients often suffer extensively as a result of the treatment's side effects. Side effects commonly experienced by patients include tiredness, decreased energy, frequent or uncomfortable urination, and loose stool or diarrhea. Patients may also experience skin irritation and lose pubic hair. One of the most serious side effects of radiation therapy in cervical cancer treatment is its potential to prevent the ovaries from functioning, which induces early-onset menopause in younger women.
  Problems with the vagina are known to arise after radiation treatment. Increased tightness and a lack of flexibility may make sexual encounters and pelvic exams painful or uncomfortable. Many patients are instructed to counteract this tightening effect by using a dilator during the course of treatment.