1. Staging Cervical Cancer Clinically
By staging your cancer, a physician can determine the disease outlook and chances of survival. Staging is a standardized way for the cancer care team to summarize information about the extent of your cancer. Your doctor can evaluate your disease by physical examination instead of taking a tissue sample. She might also use tests such as cystoscopy and proctoscopy to determine your stage among stages O through IV. This is called FIGO staging, after the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
2. Stage Zero
The cancer cells in stage 0 are still skimming the surface, just lining the cervix. You should consider yourself lucky if your doctor spots the cancer at this stage. She can literally freeze the abnormal cells by inserting a metal probe cooled with liquid nitrogen into your vagina or cervix. Also, a focused laser beam can burn off the cancer cells at this initial stage.
3. Entering the Next Stage
Cancers before advanced stage 1B2 are visible only under a microscope, initially. But at an advanced stage 1B2, they are visible to the naked eye and can be as wide as four centimeters. This would call for a surgical removal of the uterus and cervix as well as pelvic lymph nodes. Ask your doctor if there are procedures to make sure you are still able to bear children. At this stage, the chances a woman will live five years after treatment range from 80-95 percent.
4. Advanced Stages
If your doctor confirms that the cancer has grown beyond the cervix and uterus, it may not be long before it spreads to the walls of the pelvis or the lower part of the vagina. In stage IIA, the cervical cancer may have entered into the upper part of the vagina. In IIB, it has spread into the tissues next to the cervix. Your specialist has the option of using a combination of radiation, chemo or surgery to treat the uterus, cervix and vagina.
5. Greater Challenges Ahead
If your cervical cancer has entered stages III or IV, your lower vagina, urinary passages, and nearby organs or other parts of the body may be affected. In fact, by stage IVB, the cancer may spread to your lungs. Radiation and experimental new drugs still offer a glimmer of hope. In fact, at this stage, the chances a woman will live for five years following the treatment range from 30-50 percent.
