January Cervical Cancer Month: Progress Is Promising

January is Cervical Cancer Month. So it is time to look at what has been accomplished recently in control of this disease. Getting treatment for advanced cervical cancer is challenging. Patients often have pelvic pain, sometimes with blockage of intestines and the urinary tract. Regrettably many patients have fistulas (holes) develop where they leak urine or stool through the skin, vagina or bladder. These are cruel consequences of failed cancer control. About 13,000 women will develop cervical cancer every year, and tragically 4,000 will die of the illness. In 2014, the FDA approved a new treatment for advanced cervical cancer. Bevacizumab, an antibody that targets blood vessels in cancers and has been useful in colon, lung and brain tumors, gave better control of patients with advanced cervical cancer when used in combination with chemotherapy. For over eight years, oncologists have been helping patients by using combinations of paclitaxel plus cisplatin chemotherapy, or paclitaxel plus topotecan chemotherapy. The addition of bevacizumab has extended the length of time chemotherapy helps patients. Combining chemotherapy with radiation treatment has also markedly helped in the control of this cancer. The cause of cervical cancer is usually infection with human papilloma virus, or HPV. Screening for cervical cancer with pap smear testing has been extended to include HPV testing, resulting in better prevention of invasive cervical cancer by diagnosing early abnormalities th...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news