Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

The treatment depends upon the extent of the cancer and upon how pregnant the woman is when it is discovered. A punch biopsy can be taken at any time during pregnancy if there is a lesion on the cervix. If no lesion is present but the smear is suspicious, most doctors wait until the end of the third month to carry out a conization, thus reducing the risk of abortion. If a Class 3 smear is discovered late in pregnancy, a vaginal delivery may be possible with delay of conization until several weeks after the birth. If a Class 4 or Class 5 smear is discovered, conization is usually postponed, an early cesarean birth is planned, and conization or hysterectomy is performed several weeks later, followed by radiation therapy. In the event that cancer is found during pregnancy, this is amazingly upsetting for the lady and her accomplice. When all is said in done, a pregnant lady can get any possible malignant growth. Hopeful moms are regularly influenced by cervical malignancy (cervi...

In its early stages, cervical cancer is usually treated with surgery or radiation or a combination of the two. Chemotherapy is often recommended for later stages ofthe disease. Stage 1 cervical cancer is usually treated with either surgery or radiation therapy . Surgery is often selected in younger women because it preserves the reproductive and hormone producing activities of the ovaries. In older women radiation may be selected because it is more easily tolerated than surgery, particularly if other medical problems are present. Surgery may be combined with radiotherapy if the shape of the tumor in the cervix makes insertion of radioactive implants difficult. Most patients with cervical cancer Stages 2 through 4 are treated with radiation therapy alone, although for some younger patients with early Stage 2 disease, surgery may be the treatment of choice. Radiation is usually a combination of external and internal radiation. If the cancer has spread extensively or has reappea...

You cannot have intercourse for 10 days after cryosurgery , since the treatment has temporarily injured the cervix . You must be careful in order to protect yourself against infection and bleeding. During those 10 days you should not douche or use tampons. When is cryosurgery used? Cryosurgery is often recommended to treat abnormal Pap smears due to early changes in cell structure called dysplasia. The procedure is often done in the doctor's office. It takes about 15 minutes to perform the treatment, no medication is needed, and it can be done with an IUD in place. How is cryosurgery done? After you are positioned on the examining table, the doctor will use a speculum to expose the cervix. A probe is used to transmit the gas used for freezing from the tank to the cervix. The gas, usually nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide, is applied for 3 minutes or longer while an ice ball forms. Will I feel anything during the procedure? You might feel some cramping, like mild menstrual...

What is conization? Conization is a surgical procedure to remove a cone shaped specimen of tissue from the cervical canal. It provides a larger tissue sample than is removed for a biopsy. It is used sometimes when the area causing the abnormal Pap smear is a large one or if it extends into the cervical opening. Conization involves removing the central portion of the cervix and its other opening. The amount of tissue removed depends on the size and location of the abnormal area. Is conization used instead of colposcopy? Before the colposcope , conization was used to do a biopsy of the cervix. Today, colposcopy is the preferred method, because conization is more expensive and takes more time. Conization can also cause difficulty with future pregnancies. However, conization is used as a diagnostic tool if colposcopy fails to determine the source of the abnormal Pap smear . If the biopsy shows that I have cancer of the cervix, what other tests will the doctor perform before he b...

How is the colposcopy done?  In doing a colposcopy , the doctor proceeds with the usual pelvic examination. With the speculum (the instrument used to separate the walls of the vagina to expose the cervix) inserted into the vagina, the doctor points the magnifying lens and a powerful light at the opening of the vagina and looks through an eyepiece. The cervix and/or vagina are swabbed with a special solution. The solution, along with a green lens placed on the colposcope, makes the abnormal area appear as whitish spots. Biopsies of these white spots or any abnormal areas are usually taken for examination. The sensation of a biopsy is similar to a mild menstrual cramp. A TV attachment on the side of the colposcope beams a picture to a nearby monitor. If he wishes, the doctor can make videotapes of the cells to study changes over a period of time. No part ofthe instrument is inserted into the vagina. When is a colposcopy done?   Sometimes a colposcopy is done when you hav...

Yes. The colposcope allows the doctor to look into parts of a woman's reproductive system the cervix, vulva, and vagina without operating. The colposcope is basically a microscope on a stand. It gives a lighted, magnified view showing greater detail than can be seen by the naked eye. Since using the colposcope properly requires special training, many doctors refer their patients to physicians who are specialized in this technique. Doctors can also biopsy the organs with this technique. No anesthesia is needed. The procedure usually takes only 10 or 15 minutes. What is the Schiller test?  The Schiller test , which is usually done in the doctor's office, is the staining of cervical cells on the cervix in order to locate possible cancerous cells. Why must a biopsy be done? Doesn't the Pap smear indicate whether or not I have cancer?  The Pap smear is only a screening tool. Although it is very accurate as a screening device, a biopsy must be done to give a definite di...

A Pap smear can accurately detect cancer of the cervix , but it is substantially less accurate for detecting cancer of the body of the uterus (endometrium), the fallopian tubes, or the ovaries. In cases where these types of cancer are discovered through a Pap smear it is because the cancer cells have passed down through the tube into the cavity of the uterus and continued out through the cervix and into the vaginal discharge. In other words, the Pap test is really designed only to detect cervical cancer?  That is correct. Regular Pap smears help make cervical cancer a preventable disease. Since cells from the cervix are continually being sloughed off into the normal discharge from the cervix and vagina, the Pap smear makes it possible for most cervical cancer to be detected before it has had an opportunity to invade or spread. The use of the Pap smear has helped to drop the death rate for women with cervical cancer by 60 percent in the last 30 years. Is it painful to have ...

At what age is a woman most likely to get cervical cancer?  The age varies, with the peak for cancer in situ being between 30 and 40 and for invasive cancer between 40 and 50. However, cervical cancer may occur at any age. About 15 percent is seen before the age of 30. Statistics indicate that there is an increasing number of patients diagnosed at the age of 20 years or below. Women who have had first intercourse at an early age and women who have multiple sex partners are at higher risk for cervical cancer . Besides the Pap test, how else can cervical cancer be detected?  There are usually no visible symptoms or signs in the early stages of cancer of the cervix . As the cancer grows, there may be unusual bleeding or discharge. You may have a longer menstrual period than usual, a heavier flow, bleeding between periods or after intercourse, or bleeding after menopause. The bleeding is usually described as bright red and unpredictable as to time, amount, or duration. Alt...

What is dysplasia? Dysplasia refers to abnormal tissue development. It means that the cells or tissue are abnormal in their growth and organization for the location in which they are found. It does not mean necessarily that they are abnormal to the extent of being malignant, nor does it mean they have formed a tumor. Dysplasia occurs more often in tissues that "turn over" (or reproduce) frequently. Dysplasia may precede the development of some cancers by years or months. Not all dysplasia develops into cancer. How many cells are in a cancerous tumor?  The number varies by the size of the tumor and the type of cell. First of all, you should understand that there is considerable variation in the size of cells making up the human body. The most numerous of the body cells are so small that it would take between 700 and 800 cells to cover the head of a pin. A 1-centimeter lump in the breast, which is a little larger than the size of a pea and is about the smallest lump wh...