Can stage 1 cervical cancer be cured?
According to the classification system of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), cervical cancer is divided into 4 stages. In particular, stage I (1) is defined as when the cancer is only located in the cervix and has not spread to nearby tissues or other organs. This is also considered the first stage of the disease. So, if detected now, can stage 1 cervical cancer be cured? How does treatment work and what is the patient’s prognosis?
Can stage 1 cervical cancer be cured?
The answer is POSSIBLE. Cervical cancer can be cured if detected and treated promptly in the early stages of the disease. Therefore, women from 30 years old are advised to get screened every 5-10 years; Women with HIV should start screening every 3 years from age 25. In addition, see a doctor if you suspect you have the following early-stage cervical cancer symptoms :
- Abnormal bleeding between periods (outside the menstrual cycle), after menopause or after sex or after straining to defecate
- More vaginal discharge or foul-smelling discharge (vaginal discharge) or mixed with blood
- Persistent pain in the lower abdomen, back, legs or pelvis
- Weight loss, fatigue and loss of appetite
- Vaginal discomfort
- Be swelled the leg.
Whether stage 1 cervical cancer is dangerous or not, any cancer is dangerous. Although stage 1 cancer can be controlled, meaning your body will no longer have any cancer cells, cancer can recur at any time.
Therefore, after treatment, you must have a follow-up examination as prescribed so that your doctor can monitor you and take early intervention measures if the disease recurs. Don’t settle for a YES answer to the question “Can stage 1 cervical cancer be cured?” But be subjective!
How long can you live with stage 1 cervical cancer?
Unlike the problem “Can stage 1 cervical cancer be cured?”, the prognosis and the issue of how long a patient will live is very difficult to answer accurately. This depends on many different factors such as age, overall health condition of the patient, level of malignancy of cancer cells…
Statisticians often use five-year survival rates from diagnosis to help patients visualize their prognosis. According to data in the UK, about 95% of stage 1 cervical cancer patients live 5 years or more after diagnosis. According to data from the American Cancer Society, this number is 91%.
That said, this is just an average number. Many people can live many more years. Moreover, as treatment methods are increasingly improving, patients’ lifespans also gradually improve over time.
Can stage 1 cervical cancer be cured and how is it treated?
At this stage, the disease is further divided into:
- Phase Ia
- Ia1: Cancer has grown ≤ 3mm deep and wide
- Ia2: The cancer has grown
- Phase Ib
- Ib1: Cancer has grown 5mm – 2cm into the cervical tissue
- Ib2: The smallest tumor is 2cm, the largest is no more than 4cm
- Ib3: The tumor is larger than 4cm but still only in the cervix.
Whether stage 1 cervical cancer can be cured or not, stages Ia1 to Ib3 can also be cured. However, the choice of treatment method will depend on the specific stage of cancer. In general, treatment will include a cone biopsy or surgery, possibly combined with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Surgery
Stage Ia1
- Removal of the entire tumor by cone biopsy or cone biopsy using an electric loop. If the cone biopsy has a positive margin (the border around the tumor still contains cancer cells), the patient will have a cone biopsy again.
- Lymph nodes can be removed if there is a risk of cancer spreading there.
- If women no longer want to have children, they can have surgery to remove the cervix.
Stage Ia2
If a woman still wishes to have children, her doctor may prescribe one of the following treatments: cone biopsy, simple cervicectomy, or removal of the entire cervix and tissue surrounding the cervix. and the upper part of the vagina (radical cervicectomy).
Stages Ib1 and Ib2
The main method is to remove the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, tissue around the cervix, the upper part of the vagina and possibly the ovaries.
In addition, the doctor may remove pelvic lymph nodes.
Chemoradiation therapy
Doctors will perform chemotherapy during radiation treatment for stage 1 cervical cancer. Chemotherapy is often applied when:
- There are cancer cells in the lymph nodes or tissue around the cervix
- The edge of the tumor has cancer cells
- The tumor has a high degree of lymph node invasion
- Stage Ib3
- Not healthy enough for surgery but able to withstand chemotherapy.
