Like all malignancies, gynecologic cancers are treated in three ways: surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Crozer-Chester Medical Center offers the latest techniques and technologies for each of these types of treatments.
· Surgery can be used to remove a tumor, or it can be used to remove the entire affected organ. Surgeons at Crozer are board-certified and have experience in high-tech cancer treatment techniques.
· Radiation therapy is the use of X-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy may use external radiation (using a machine outside the body) or internal radiation, which involves putting radioisotopes (materials that produce radiation) through thin plastic tubes into the area where cancer cells are found, a process called brachytherapy. In addition, the Crozer Regional Cancer Center has introduced Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, or IMRT, a form of external radiation that allows a high dose of radiation to be delivered directly to the tumor while minimizing the effects on surrounding organs and tissue.
· Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth or it may be put into the body by injection. Either type of chemotherapy is called systemic treatment because the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. Certain medications may be combined with other drugs to enhance their effects.
Each patient’s treatment plan is determined specifically for her, based on the type of cancer, the size of the tumor, the stage of the cancer, the age of the patient, and other factors. The latest research has shown that in certain instances, a combination of treatments has proven to result in higher cure rates and fewer side effects for the patient.