Treatment depends on many factors, including whether the cancer has spread and whether the patient is young enough to have children.
For more advanced disease, surgery is often the best option. Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) is common among patients with cancer of the cervix, uterus, and ovary. Doctors may also suggest radiation therapy or chemotherapy to prevent the cancer from spreading further.
Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. It is used to treat a variety of conditions. One of the most common reasons for hysterectomy is the definitive treatment of uterine fibroid tumors, which are noncancerous growths of the uterus that can cause heavy bleeding, pain, or other uncomfortable symptoms.
Hysterectomy may also be recommended for other conditions, such as cancer, uterine prolapse (when the uterus falls into the vagina), endometriosis (when cells within the lining of the uterus grow outside the uterus and cause pain), cancer of the uterus or cervix and other causes of chronic pelvic pain or bleeding.
After a hysterectomy, a woman will no longer menstruate and will not be able to have children. Depending on the severity of the condition, it may be possible to delay surgery until the woman has had all the children she plans to have.
There are three main categories of hysterectomy distinguished by what is removed:
- Total hysterectomy: Removal of the entire uterus, including the cervix.
- Supracervical hysterectomy: Removal of the body of the uterus, while the cervix is left intact.
- radical hysterectomy: removal of the entire uterus and some of the nearby surrounding tissue. This surgery is primarily for cancerous conditions, including endometrial and cervical cancers.
Some conditions may require removal of one or both ovaries and/or fallopian tubes in addition to the uterus.
El Dr. Alfonso Ángel Quesada, gynecologist and obstetrician at Ginefem, explains in this video how gynecological cancers are treated.
