Your Options When Treating Cervical Cancer

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Cervical cancer is treatable if detected early enough and surgically removed. In addition to surgery, treatment can include chemotherapy, radiation and in some cases immunotherapy.

Depending on the extent of the spread of cancer lesions, the type of surgical procedure can range from removal of part of the cervix to removal of the entire uterus and its supporting structures. Lymph nodes in the groin may also be removed.

Treating cervical cancer sometimes include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, an approach believed by some experts to be ineffective in relieving symptoms or extending life. Others believe that the use of herbal medicine as a part of medically directed treatment plan can make chemotherapy and radiation more bearable, and increase the chance of producing remission.

Here Are Some Useful Recommendations And Considerations When Treating Cervical cancer

Foods High in Antioxidants

A four-year study found women who frequently consumed dark-green and yellow vegetables and fruit juices had lower risk of developing invasive cancer. There are compounds in these vegetables that are similar to vitamin A that can help deactivate one of HPV's cancer-causing genes, although this is more effective in the earliest stages of disease.

Vitamin E and Glutamine Antioxidants

Taking 200-400 international units of vitamin E has been shown to provide a threefold decrease in the rate of invasive cancer.

It has been found that lower levels of vitamin E have been found at every successive stage of cervical cancer -- therefore, the worse the cancer, the lower amounts of vitamin E in the tissues.

Scientists have also found low levels of amino acid glutathione (and higher levels of enzymes that destroy it) at every successive stage of the disease. Taking 250 milligrams of glutamine combined with 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C per day, is an important antioxidant building block.

Treating Cervical Cancer With Thymic Factor Supplement

Taking Thymic Factor Supplement may help stimulate the immune system in cervical cancer. However, do not take this during chemotherapy with Adriamycin or Platinol.

Quit Smoking Now!

If you smoke --you should quit now, and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke. Cigarette smoke can interfere with the immune system and decrease its ability to keep HPV in check and can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

Abnormal Pap Smear

Not all women with abnormal pap smear develop cervical cancer. Only 5 to 10% out of the approximately 2 million women a year, who are given a diagnosis of atypical cells, have cervical cancer, and most of those who do have it test positive for HPV.

Fortunately, there is a more sensitive test for HPV infection. The Hybrid Capture ll test detects 90 to 95% of cases, compared to 75 to 80% of Pap smear. This is especially helpful if the Pap test is inconclusive.
Vinegar and Cervical Cancer Cells

Cancerous or pre-cancerous cervical lesions turn white when exposed to vinegar and this can be observed by a physician or a trained nurse in most cases.

Younger Women with Cervical Cancer

Younger women with cervical cancer must be treated with surgery to preserve fertility. The procedure, trachelectomy, removes the cervix while preserving the uterus. In the first 26 women who underwent the procedure, only one experience a recurrence of cancer.
Folic Acid Supplements

Women with cervical dysplasia who take oral contraceptives are less likely to develop severe dysplasia or cancer if they take folic acid. One study found women who did not take folic acid developed severe dysplasia after 4 months, while none of those who took a daily dose of 10 milligrams folic acid saw a worsening of their condition.

Information on Treating Cervical Cancer Obtained from...

Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies, Phyllis A. Balch, CNC (2002), NY: Penguin Putnam, Inc.

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