DIAGNOSIS
- History and Physical Examination
- Your doctor may:
- Ask you about your symptoms carry
- out a physical examination
- refer you for blood tests to rule out other causes of your symptoms
- do internal and external vaginal examination
- do colposcopy- a special instrument (colposcope) that acts like a magnifying glass is used to study your vagina in greater detail
- request for biopsy
- Staging
- Describes how far vaginal cancer has advanced. stage of your cancer is important in determining which treatment is most appropriate and whether a cure is possible. Generally, the lower the stage when cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of a cure.
- stage 1 – the cancer has started to grow into the wall of the vagina
- stage 2 – the cancer has begun to spread outside the vagina into the surrounding tissues
- stage 3 – the cancer has spread into your pelvis and may have spread to nearby lymph nodes
- stage 4a – the cancer has spread beyond your vagina and into organs such as your bladder or back passage (rectum)
- stage 4b – the cancer has spread into organs further away, such as the lungs
RECOMMENDED MEDICATIONS
Treatment for vaginal cancer will depend on where the cancer is in your vagina and how far it has spread.
- Radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is the main treatment for vaginal cancer. It can be used:
- as an initial treatment to cure the cancer
- in combination with chemotherapy
- after surgery to prevent the cancer from returning
- to control symptoms when a cure is not possible
The type of radiotherapy you receive depends on where the cancer is in your body
- internal radiotherapy may be used if the cancer is in the lining of your vagina
- external radiotherapy may be used if the cancer is deeper in the tissues of the vagina.
- Surgery. There are four main types of surgery used to treat vaginal cancer:
- partial vaginectomy– removing the upper section of your vagina
- radical vaginectomy– removing all of your vagina and pelvic lymph nodes
- radical vaginectomy and radical hysterectomy– removing all of your vagina, womb, ovaries, fallopian tubes and pelvic lymph nodes
- pelvic exenteration– removing all of your vagina and surrounding tissue, including the bladder and/or rectum (back passage)
- Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is usually used in combination with radiotherapy or to control symptoms when a cure is not possible (palliative chemotherapy). It’s usually given by injection (intravenous chemotherapy).
