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... boost of treatment to the cancer itself and the area close by. Internal radiotherapy for cancer of the cervix is also known as called 'calcium treatment'. This is because a radioactive element called calcium is the radiation source that is used for the in-patient treatment over a few days.
Other radioactive metals can be used, which release radiation more quickly. Treatment can be given in 2 - 5 sessions of a few minutes each. The overall total radiation dose the patient receives will be about the same, whichever type of treatment they elect to have. Usually both these treatments are used for early cervical cancer. Sometimes doctors use external radiotherapy before or after surgery, but doctors now avoid this if they can because it increases the risk of long term side effects. Radiotherapy can also be used in conjunction with chemotherapy.
For the past few years, this is the recommended treatment for most women with a cervical cancer that is anywhere between stage IB and stage IVA, or anything from a tumor / lesion that is just on the cervix, but bigger than 4 cm to a cancer that has spread to other body tissues outside the womb, such as the bladder or bowel. There has been a great deal of research in recent years to show that this "combination" treatment is more likely to cure a cervical cancer than major surgery alone. For this treatment, the patient would have radiotherapy as normal, but would have chemotherapy at the same time. Most often, this means an injection of a chemotherapy drug called cisplatin once a week throughout the patient's course of radiotherapy. The side effects of radiation therapy are uncomfortable and can be emotionally distressing. Radiation kills normal tissue, and the body reacts negatively to this aggressive treatment.
Radiation for cervical cancer destroys the ovaries. Side effects may also include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bladder irritation and painful urination, weight loss and loss of appetite, fatigue, loss of vaginal sensation (when the vagina is included in the radiation field), and skin reactions. These side effects vary among women undergoing this treatment and those symptoms directly attributed to radiation therapy typically disappear after treatment. Because the ovaries are destroyed, radiation also brings on the symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and night sweats. Other treatments used to destroy cancerous cells are Electrocautery, Cryosurgery, and Laser Vaporization. These treatments destroy the abnormal cells on the surface of the cervix, allowing eventual growth of new healthy cells.
The procedures can be performed in a gynecologist's office, usually with no anesthesia. Electrocautery reportedly causes more pain during and after the procedure than newer methods, and it leaves more scar tissue on the cervix. For these reasons, it is used less frequently now than in the past. Still, it is effective in treating stage I and II. Cryosurgery and laser surgery can cause cramp like pain during the procedures and some vaginal discharge for several weeks afterwards. Bleeding may follow laser treatment.
After either procedure, some women will need a second treatment to ensure all the abnormal tissue has been destroyed. The area affected by cryosurgery in particular can be difficult to control. This can result in the destruction of either too much or not enough tissue, depending on the size of the probe. Laser surgery is slightly more likely than cryosurgery to destroy the diseased tissue the first time, but often is more expensive.
Other benefits of laser treatment include its precision, as it destroys only diseased tissue, and its reach can be directed at abnormalities farther inside in the cervix that are inaccessible to cryosurgery and electrocautery. After electrocautery, cryosurgery, or laser treatment, nothing should be inserted into the vagina for several weeks. This means no tampons, douching, or intercourse. Pap smear and colposcopy should be performed in 4 months to determine whether the treatments were successful. Pap smears may not return to normal for some time following these treatments because of the trauma to the cervical cells.
As with many other types of cancer, the outcome depends on how advanced the cancer is when it is diagnosed. Since the 1970 's the number of deaths from cervical cancer in the United States has declined. The main reason for this is the introduction of the regular screening. Regular screening has enabled women with pre cancerous changes and early stage cervical cancers to be picked up and treated early. Figures suggest that cervical screening is saving 8, 000 lives each year in the United States by preventing cervical cancer. Of all those women diagnosed with cervical cancer, about 7 out of 10 women on average (70 %) will be alive 5 years after diagnosis.
Younger women have a better survival rate than older women. This is partly due to the fact that the disease in younger women tends to be diagnosed at an earlier stage. Please see below for a breakdown of the survival rates of cervical cancer patients published by Wrong Diagnosis. com O 67. 4 % of people with cervical cancer survive after 5 years in the US 1983 - 90 (SEER) O 73 % of white people survive 5 years in the US 1992 - 99 (Cancer Facts and Figures, American Cancer Society, 2004) O 61 % of African American people survive 5 years in the US 1992 - 99 (Cancer Facts and Figures, American Cancer Society, 2004) O 71 % survive 5 years in the US 1992 - 99 (Cancer Facts and Figures, American Cancer Society, 2004) O 58 % of women aged 20 - 74 survive five years after cervical cancer diagnosis in Australia 1992 - 97 (Cancer Survival in Australia, 1992 - 97, Australia's Health 2004, AIHW) O 5 -year survival rate for black women with cervix uteri cancer is 56. 4 % in the US 1983 - 90 (SEER) O 5 -year survival rate for white women with cervix uteri cancer is 69. 9 % in the US 1983 - 90 (SEER) O 5 -year survival rate for women with cervix uteri cancer is 67. 4 % in the US 1983 - 90 (SEER) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 15 - 99 with cervical cancer is 82. 3 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 15 - 99 with cervical cancer is 62. 2 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 15 - 39 with cervical cancer is 94 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 15 - 39 with cervical cancer is 80 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 40 - 49 with cervical cancer is 90 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 40 - 49 with cervical cancer is 73 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 50 - 59 with cervical cancer is 84 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 50 - 59 with cervical cancer is 62 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 60 - 69 with cervical cancer is 78 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 60 - 69 with cervical cancer is 54 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 70 - 79 with cervical cancer is 65 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 70 - 79 with cervical cancer is 37 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 1 -year survival rate for women aged 80 - 99 with cervical cancer is 49 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) O 5 -year survival rate for women aged 80 - 99 with cervical cancer is 25 % in England and Wales 1991 - 95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics In conclusion, cervical cancer, while a formidable opponent to anybody unfortunate enough to be battling it, can be prevented through both screenings and education to the demographic it affects the most: young women.
With science making more and more advances every year in the field of oncology, it can be treated with a variety of procedures, both surgical and non-surgical.
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Research essay sample on American Cancer Society Survival Rate
