By Lance Winslow

Serious cases of cervical cancer can be successfully treated, although it is best to catch cervical cancer early. The best way to do this is with regular, routine and periodic paps tests. In the invasive stage more drastic measures need to be taken to stop the spread of cancer and even in this case if the cancer has not moved beyond the cervics there is nearly a 90% rate of survival. Forty years ago we couldn’t say that, so things have come along way. By getting paps tests abnormal cells are found early and removed or treated very easily.

There are many ways used to treat later stage cervical cancer. Hysterectomy surgery in the invasive stages is one of the more popular ways to treat cervical cancer and is used often inn younger women, because it preserve the ovaries. Hysterectomy removes the uterus and cervix thus removing the cancer in the process. Hysterectomies in more serious cases include removing part of the vagina, cervix, uterus as well as any lumph nodes in the region.

Radical trachelectomy can be another method used to preserve fertility, this would remove the cervix and lower part of the uterus, but the rest of the uterus is left for bearing the fetus. Lymph nodes are also removed in the pelvis and there is further surveillance to see if cancer has spread. Chemotherapy anti cancer drugs can also be used to enter the patients bloodstream which can increase the effects of radiation to treat cervical cancer. Radiation treatment is also possible to shrink the tumors killing the cancer cells. This prevents the cancer cells from reproducing.

The less serious cases are treated with a simple hysterectomy or radical trachelectomy, which would first choice in invasive stages. Sometimes in later stages a combination of any of these will be used. If you have periodic paps tests you can prevent this level of treatment and even if you have to go through any of these levels of treatment you most likely will end up a cancer survivor like Lance Armstrong. So talk with your doctor, stay informed, do your own research and think on this.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Cancer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.