Treatment For Cervical Cancer
Published on Apr 01 2010, in the categories: Treatments
The treatment of advanced or disseminated tumors very often involves radiation. In fact, it is possible to cure cervical cancer using only radiotherapy, even when the tumor has spread.
In some cases, the cancer has spread over long distances in the pelvis (eg. To the bladder and rectum), but did not invade the lungs or other organs. Radiation therapy is usually tried first but if that fails, a surgical procedure called exenteration may be effective. The exenteration is a process that involves removing all the pelvic organs and replace them with artificial devices and graft tissues from the treated individual. This technique produces a radical cure rate of approximately 50%.
The risk of cervical cancer can be greatly reduced if you avoid HPV infections. However, infection with HPV is very common for both men and women, and only a small percentage of these infections can cause problems. Most people have been infected in adolescence or early adulthood, long before that the relationship between this virus and cervical cancer is known to anyone.
If you have not been affected by the infection, protect yourself by practicing safe sex: use condoms. Please be aware that condoms only protect the areas they cover. Because condoms do not cover all the areas you may touch during sexual activity, HPV can be spread by skin contact, even that of the person who wears a condom. However, given that condoms cover the greater part of the genital areas that make contact during sex, they reduce the risk of exposure to HPV even if they do not prevent it completely.
If you manage to quit smoking, you also have a better chance to prevent cervical cancer.
Vaccination is another way to prevent cervical cancer. The first vaccination against HPV in the world has been approved in Canada and the United States in 2006. This vaccine protects against 4 types of human papillomavirus. Studies have shown that the vaccine prevents the infection very effectively cause 4 types of HPV that cause genital warts, cervical cancer, precancerous lesions of the cervix and cancers of the vulva and vagina.
The vaccine is now available for young women ages 9 to 26 years. Although the vaccine protects against future infection HPV, it has no effect on HPV infection in progress. Therefore, the best candidates for this vaccination are girls who have not yet begun their sex lives, since they have not yet been exposed to HPV. But women who were already sexually active may also reap the benefits of the vaccine if they have not yet contracted HPV. The vaccination is given in 3 doses over a period of 6 months.
Prevention
The cervical cancer is screened using the Pap smear
In some cases, the cancer has spread over long distances in the pelvis (eg. To the bladder and rectum), but did not invade the lungs or other organs. Radiation therapy is usually tried first but if that fails, a surgical procedure called exenteration may be effective. The exenteration is a process that involves removing all the pelvic organs and replace them with artificial devices and graft tissues from the treated individual. This technique produces a radical cure rate of approximately 50%.
The risk of cervical cancer can be greatly reduced if you avoid HPV infections. However, infection with HPV is very common for both men and women, and only a small percentage of these infections can cause problems. Most people have been infected in adolescence or early adulthood, long before that the relationship between this virus and cervical cancer is known to anyone.
If you have not been affected by the infection, protect yourself by practicing safe sex: use condoms. Please be aware that condoms only protect the areas they cover. Because condoms do not cover all the areas you may touch during sexual activity, HPV can be spread by skin contact, even that of the person who wears a condom. However, given that condoms cover the greater part of the genital areas that make contact during sex, they reduce the risk of exposure to HPV even if they do not prevent it completely.
If you manage to quit smoking, you also have a better chance to prevent cervical cancer.
Vaccination is another way to prevent cervical cancer. The first vaccination against HPV in the world has been approved in Canada and the United States in 2006. This vaccine protects against 4 types of human papillomavirus. Studies have shown that the vaccine prevents the infection very effectively cause 4 types of HPV that cause genital warts, cervical cancer, precancerous lesions of the cervix and cancers of the vulva and vagina.
The vaccine is now available for young women ages 9 to 26 years. Although the vaccine protects against future infection HPV, it has no effect on HPV infection in progress. Therefore, the best candidates for this vaccination are girls who have not yet begun their sex lives, since they have not yet been exposed to HPV. But women who were already sexually active may also reap the benefits of the vaccine if they have not yet contracted HPV. The vaccination is given in 3 doses over a period of 6 months.
Prevention
The cervical cancer is screened using the Pap smear
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