Cervical Cancer Treatment Options Abroad

Understanding cervical cancer

A form of cancer, which affects the cervix (i.e. a part of the female reproductive system) is a slow growing tumor caused almost always due to an infection of Human Papilloma Virus. The other predisposing factors include early sexual activity, having multiple sexual partners, prolonged use of oral contraceptive pills, infection due to sexually transmitted diseases, and smoking. PAP smear, a screening test for detecting cervical cancer, is recommended among sexually active women. To confirm the diagnosis colposcopy, punch or cone biopsy of the cervical tissue is done. Other imaging techniques like CT scan, X ray or PET scan may be used to assess the extent of metastasis and the stage of tumor growth.

Cervical Cancer Surgery

The option of surgical treatment would depend only upon the stage and the location of the cancer. There are different forms of treatments available, which include hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and the cervix), Radical hysterectomy (removal of uterus, cervix, a part of the vagina and the surrounding lymph nodes), Pelvic Exenteration (removal of the cervix, uterus, vagina, ovaries, lymph nodes, lower colon, rectum, and bladder). Cryosurgery and laser surgery are options that are available for pre-cancerous conditions and smaller tumors.

Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy in treatment

In cases of extensive metastasis beyond the cervix, and when surgical intervention is considered inadequate to remove the cancer, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are recommended. The treatment is also given prior to (neo-adjuvant) and after (adjuvant) surgery to improve the surgical outcome. Both the treatments are accompanied by several side effects, like hair loss, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, and increased susceptibility to infections, diarrhea, and dysuria.

Cervical Cancer treatment option Abroad

With rapidly evolving technology, international quality standards and protocols for medical and surgical care, and international accreditation with JCI, JACHO and ISO, countries like India, South Korea, Turkey, Jordan and Mexico have gained reputation as the leading destinations for treatment of cervical cancer treatment. Low cost of treatment and tremendous cost saving opportunities has resulted in an increase in the number of American patients considering the option of going abroad to seek out for high quality and low cost medical care

Cervical Cancer Treatment In India At Affordable Cost

Cervical Cancer
What is Cervical Cancer ?
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers that affect a woman's reproductive organs. Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in causing most cases of cervical cancer.
When exposed to HPV, a woman's immune system typically prevents the virus from doing harm. In a small group of women, however, the virus survives for years before it eventually converts some cells on the surface of the cervix into cancer cells. Half of cervical cancer cases occur in women between ages 35 and 55...

Symptoms of Cervical Cancer
You may not experience any cervical cancer symptoms — early cervical cancer generally produces no signs or symptoms.
As the cancer progresses, these cervical cancer symptoms and signs may appear : -

• Vaginal bleeding after intercourse, between periods or after menopause
• Watery, bloody vaginal discharge that may be heavy and have a foul odor
• Pelvic pain or pain during intercourse

Causes of Cervical Cancer
In general, cancer begins when healthy cells acquire a genetic mutation that turns normal cells into abnormal cells. Healthy cells grow and multiply at a set rate, eventually dying at a set time. Cancer cells grow and multiply out of control, and they don't die. The accumulating abnormal cells form a mass (tumor). Cancer cells invade nearby tissues and can break off from an initial tumor to spread elsewhere in the body (metastasize).
Cervical cancer most commonly begins in the thin, flat cells that line the bottom of the cervix (squamous cells). Squamous cell carcinomas account for about 80 percent of cervical cancers. Cervical cancer can also occur in the glandular cells that line the upper portion of the cervix. Called adenocarcinomas, these cancers make up about 15 percent of cervical cancers. Sometimes both types of cells are involved in cervical cancer. Very rare cancers can occur in other cells in the cervix.
 Risk factors of Causes of Cervical Cancer
Many sexual partners : - The greater your number of sexual partners — and the greater your partner's number of sexual partners — the greater your chance of acquiring HPV.
Early sexual activity : - Having sex before age 18 increases your risk of HPV. Immature cells seem to be more susceptible to the precancerous changes that HPV can cause.
Other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) : - If you have other STDs — such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis or HIV/AIDS — you have a greater chance of also having acquired HPV.
A weak immune system : - Most women who are infected with HPV never develop cervical cancer. However, if you have an HPV infection and your immune system is weakened by another health condition, you may be more likely to develop cervical cancer.

Cigarette smoking : - The exact mechanism that links cigarette smoking to cervical cancer isn't known, but tobacco use increases the risk of precancerous changes as well as cancer of the cervix. Smoking and HPV infection may work together to cause cervical cancer.

Diagnosis
If you experience signs and symptoms of cervical cancer or if a Pap test has revealed cancerous cells, you may undergo further tests to diagnose your cancer.

To make a diagnosis, your doctor may : -

Examine your cervix : - During an exam called colposcopy, your doctor uses a special microscope (colposcope) to examine your cervix for abnormal cells. If your doctor identifies unusual areas, he or she may take a small sample of cells for analysis (biopsy).

Take a sample of cervical cells : - During a biopsy procedure your doctor removes a sample of unusual cells from your cervix using special tools. During one type of biopsy — punch biopsy — your doctor uses a circular knife to remove a small circular section of the cervix. Other special types of biopsy may be used depending on the location and size of the unusual area of cells.

Remove a cone-shaped area of cervical cells : - A cone biopsy (conization) — so called because it involves taking a cone-shaped sample of the cervix — allows your doctor to obtain deeper layers of cervical cells for laboratory testing. Your doctor may use a scalpel, laser or electrified wire loop to cut away the tissue.

Complications
Treatments for invasive cervical cancer often make it impossible to become pregnant in the future. For many women — especially younger women and those who have yet to begin a family — infertility is a distressing side effect of treatment. If you're concerned about your ability to get pregnant in the future, discuss this with your doctor.
For a specific subgroup of women with early cervical cancer, fertility-sparing surgery may be a treatment option. A surgical procedure to remove your cervix and surrounding lymphatic tissue only (radical trachelectomy) may preserve your uterus. Early studies of radical trachelectomy suggest that cervical cancer can be cured using this technique, though it isn't appropriate for every woman and there may be added risks to this surgery. Future pregnancies may be possible, but are considered high risk because removing the cervical tissue can lead to a higher incidence of miscarriage and premature birth...

Treatments of Cervical Cancer
Treatment of cervical cancer that's confined to the outside layer of the cervix typically requires treatment to remove the abnormal area of cells. For most women in this situation, no additional treatments are needed..

What Are the Options on Cervical Cancer Treatment?

The cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus that leads to the vagina or birth canal. Like many organs in the body, the cervix can develop cancer. Cervical cancer usually develops very slowly over time. Before cancer appears in the cervix, dysphasia happens. Dysphasia is where the cells of the cervix go through changes and the cells that are not normal appear in the cervical tissue. When this happens, cancer starts to spread around the cervix and to other surrounding areas. Since the cervix is an important organ in the female body, it is important for us to know what are the options available on cervical cancer treatment.

Cervical cancer is often treated by a hysterectomy where the entire uterus and part of the vagina is removed surgically. If the cancer in the cervix is at an advanced stages, lymph nodes may also need to be removed. However, since many patients want to remain fertile, other more gentle cervical cancer treatment methods need to be considered. One of such gentle treatment is the loop electrosurgical excision procedure or LEEP.

There are many advantages to a LEEP, which include low cost, a high success rate, ease of use and often only requires the use of a local anesthetic. Another such surgical procedure is the cone biopsy. In a cone biopsy, only a cone shapes sample is removed from the mucous membrane. Radiation therapy is given as external beam radiotherapy to the pelvis and internally as brachytherapy. However if the cone biopsy does not produce much positive results, there is another procedure called a trachelectomy. With a trachelectomy, the doctors will try to remove only the cancer while keeping the uterus and ovaries intact. This treatment option is particularly ideal in condition whereby the cervical cancer has not spread to other areas inside the uterus. The limitation with this treatment method is that there are only a few specialists available who are qualified and skilled enough to perform this delicate procedure. Radiation therapy is another treatment option. Radiation therapy is administered as external beam radiotherapy to the pelvis and internally as brachytherapy. However, when dealing with cervical cancer, the biggest issue besides survival is the ability to have children in the future.

It is important to explore all the treatment options available for cervical cancer and to discuss with your doctor, friends, family and husband on the best cancer treatment for you. Do get a second expert's opinion before proceeding with any cervical cancer treatment involving surgery.