A person’s chance of surviving cervical cancer depends on the stage of the disease when it is diagnosed and how far it has spread. Doctors use a system called FIGO to determine the stage of a person’s cervical cancer, and the stages are often combined into four numbered categories. Survival rates, or how likely a patient is to survive for a certain amount of time, are usually stated in percentages. But, because all cancers are different and every person is unique, the figures are general statistics and may not apply to any particular case.
During the early stages, cervical cancer cells are not cancerous and have not grown past the surface layers of tissue into deeper levels. These precancerous cells are sometimes referred to as carcinoma in situ. Doctors use Pap smears and pelvic examinations to determine whether the abnormal cells are cancerous. If the doctors discover that the cells are cancerous, they will perform a biopsy to determine how big they are and how deep they have penetrated into the cervix.
If the cancerous cells are still localized, or have not moved beyond the cervix and uterus, the five-year relative survival rate is 92%. For people with locally advanced cervical cancer, the combination of chemotherapy and radiation seems to offer better results than either treatment alone. Doctors also use newer radiation techniques that can be more precisely targeted to the cervix. These techniques include LEEP (loop electrosurgical excision procedure), cold knife conization, and cauterization (burning, or diathermy).
For patients with stage 3 cervical cancer, the cancerous cells have spread to the lower portion of the vagina or to the muscles that surround the pelvic area (pelvic walls). In some cases, the cancer has reached nearby lymph nodes. In this stage, the cancer can cause a condition in which the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder are blocked (hydronephrosis), and it is also possible that the tumor has spread outside of the pelvic area into distant locations in the body such as the bones, lungs, or liver.
Once a person has been treated for cervical cancer, it is common for the cancer to recur at some point in the future. Doctors can often detect recurrent cervical cancer when the patient comes in for follow-up visits. They will do a pelvic exam and a Pap smear, and they may suggest additional laboratory or imaging tests. The doctor can then treat the recurrent cervical cancer if it is found.
A recurrence of cervical cancer is called a relapse, and it may cause symptoms such as pain or bleeding during menstruation. Most of the time, recurrent cervical cancer can be treated successfully, especially when it is detected early. However, in some instances, the cancer can spread to other parts of the body and be difficult to control. In these situations, the patient may be referred to an oncologist for other treatment options. Several treatments are available for patients who have recurrent cervical cancer, including hormone therapy and radiation therapy.
