Archive for June, 2011

Choosing Proper Treatment For Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is one of the common cause of deaths among women. It is caused by the virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). This is spread through sexual contact. If the woman’s body cannot fight off this virus, this may lead to cancer. Women predisposed to having cervical cancer are those who smoke, with many children, with HIV infection, those who have a history of cancer in the family, and those who have had multiple sexual partners.

There are women who get so scared to go to doctors to get check-ups that they become their own doctors and self-medicate. There are appropriate treatments that are offered by doctors to patients with cervical cancer. These options are radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery or a combination of these.

Treatment options would mainly depend on the size of the tumor and whether or not the cancer has spread throughout the body. A woman’s need to be pregnant in the future will also be considered before choosing a specific type of treatment. The doctor would be describing the options to the woman, along with its expected results.

One of the surgeries that a cervical cancer patient would have to undergo would be radical trachelectomy. This entails the removal of the cervix, part of the vagina and the lymph nodes in the pelvis. This is one of those surgeries that women would opt for if they want to get pregnant after the surgery. Another type of surgery is radical hysterectomy where the cervix, its tissues, the uterus and the vagina are removed. In total abdominal hysterectomy, the surgeon would remove the whole cervix and the uterus, preventing the chance of growing or spreading out.

Before the treatment is started, it is advised that a woman ask her doctor what changes would have to be made after treatment has been done. There are various side effects when undergoing the total abdominal hysterectomy like becoming depressed. This way, the doctor will be able to help you prepare for these changes. A woman’s support system will be very crucial to her recovery to guide her through the changes that she would be experiencing.

There has recently been a vaccine that would help prevent a woman from acquiring cervical cancer. There are 3 shots that need to be completed. Although it is not entirely an assurance that cervical cancer will be prevented, the chance of getting the disease will be lowered.

2011
06/06
CATEGORY
Cancer Care
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Cervical Cancer Survival Rate – Dare to Know Your Chances

A long time ago, the cervical cancer survival rate is pretty low. In fact, it’s too low that it accounts for a huge number of deaths among women in the united states. With the increasing mortality rate of those who were under the disease, more women began pushing this cancer’s education and awareness to protect the lives of both unaffected and affected females in the nation.

As of today, the number of lives taken due to cervical cancer is decreased with more women appreciating the benefits of early detection through regular and annual pap smears. Because more women are now more careful of their body and their health, cervical cancer is now deduced from being a killer disease to an illness that is easily prevented and detected.

Cancer of the cervix has 4 stages – stages 1 to 4. In this case, stage 1 is the earliest (and less dangerous) and stage 4 is the most dangerous.

Stage 1 has two phases: Stage 1A and Stage 1B. At the 1st phase, the Cervical Cancer Survival Rate is pretty agreeable at 96-99%. Since this is the first phase of your cancer experience, the cancer is still localized and may be easily taken by surgery. Stage 1B has around 80-90% rate of survival and may be treated with a combination of surgery, chemo and radiation therapy.

At stage 2, the cancer has already proliferated to the surrounding tissues outside the uterus. At a five-year time period, the Cervical Cancer Survival Rate of patients diagnosed during this stage is significantly lower at 65-69%. Treatment is the same with the previous stage but dosage and frequency of the medications and therapy sessions may be higher.

In most cancer cases, it is dangerous to leave the cancer untreated until it reaches the 3rd stage. It is because prognosis at this stage is very poor and the Cervical Cancer Survival Rate is quite low at 40-43% even with adequate chemo and radiation therapy.

At the fourth stage of the disease, the cancer may have already affected the distant organs such as the pelvis and even the intestines. Even with treatment, the percentage of survival is still at 15-20%.

Cancer of the cervix is equally prevalent among women with kids and without and also to women with active sex life or those without. Like most cancers, the direct and exact cause of cancer of the cervix is unknown but is loosely related to a woman’s lifestyle, race and even her socio-economic status.

The preventative and detective measures primarily suggested by most medical practitioners are biannual or annual pap smear tests as soon as a woman begins engaging in active sex or as early as eighteen years of age.

Know more about Cervical Cancer Survival Rate by visiting Cancer Survival Rates.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6292693

2011
06/06
CATEGORY
Cancer Care
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