Cervical cancer treatment
If you have been diagnosed with cervical cancer, your specialist will be able to discuss the best treatment for you. Sometimes there will be a choice or combination of treatments. You may have a lot of questions to ask your doctor at this stage so making a list may help you remember them. You may also like to take a friend or a relative with you when you see your doctor. Your main treatment will usually be surgery or radiotherapy. Chemotherapy is less common.
Surgery
Some very early cervical cancers may be removed during a cone biopsy. However, great care will be needed to ensure all cancer cells have been removed.
A hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus by surgery. There are two different kinds of hysterectomies—a total and a radical. In a total hysterectomy, the uterus, including the cervix, is removed. In a radical hysterectomy, the cervix, the support ligaments and the top part of the vagina are removed. The ovaries may or may not be removed. Lymph glands from the pelvic floor may also be removed during a radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer. This is called a lymphadenectomy.
A hysterectomy is a major operation which may require 6 or 7 days in hospital, or about 10 days if you have a radical hysterectomy.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is the use of X-rays to destroy cancer cells. Radiotherapy may be advised if you are not well enough for a major operation, or if the tumour has spread into the tissues around the cervix. Radiotherapy may also be used after surgery or combined with chemotherapy, usually both external and internal.
- External radiotherapy
- Internal radiotherapy
In external radiotherapy, special rays from a large machine are directed at the part of the body needing treatment. For women with cervical cancer, this is the pelvic area.
In internal radiotherapy a radioactive implant is placed inside your body as close to the tumour as possible. You will be given a short general anaesthetic so the implant can be placed inside your vagina and left there for up to 72 hours. You will need to be in hospital for a few days in your own room while the implant is in place, due to the implant's radioactivity.
Side effects of radiotherapy
A number of temporary and controllable side effects may be experienced. These may include: tiredness, depression, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, pain when passing urine, and skin problems. The skin between your buttocks may feel sore like sunburn (after radiotherapy). Special cream can be used to relieve this burning feeling.
If you have not been through menopause, radiotherapy will affect your ovaries and reduce their ability to produce normal hormones. This may cause infertility and symptoms of menopause.
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer using anti-cancer drugs. The aim is to destroy cancer cells while having the least possible effect on normal cells.
Chemotherapy is usually given for women with more advanced cervical cancer. It may be used before or after surgery or radiotherapy. Occasionally chemotherapy is given during radiotherapy as well. Chemotherapy is usually given through a vein.
- Side effects of chemotherapy
The side effects vary according to the particular drugs used and may include feeling sick, depression, feeling off-colour and tired, and some thinning or loss of your hair. These side effects are temporary and measures are usually taken to either prevent or reduce them.
You will need to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment for yourself. You need to make sure you understand enough about your illness, the treatment and its side effects to make your own decisions if you are offered a choice of treatments. Do not be hurried into making decisions—a few extra days will not make a difference to the success of your treatment.
Once you have discussed your treatment choices with your doctor, you may want to talk them over with your partner, family, friends or others. You may also want to ask for a second opinion from another specialist. Your specialist or GP can refer you to another specialist for this.
For information or cancer support call 13 11 20.
For more information, see the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria website (see the link below).
Last Reviewed: 19 April 2001
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