GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS
Vagina
Very small tumors of the vagina may be treated with either surgery or radiation therapy. In most cases radiation therapy is the best treatment because the surgical procedure that would be needed to cure the cancer would require removal of too much normal tissue. The radiation therapy program for vaginal cancer usually involves 5 weeks of external beam radiation treatments (treatments given 5 days per week) followed a few weeks later by a 3 day radiation treatment with internal implantation. Patients go to the operating room with anesthesia for the internal implantation procedure. The basic implantation technique usually involves inserting multiple needles into the area of the vagina involved with cancer. Radioactive wires are then placed in the needles to deliver radiation treatments. Patients stay in a private hospital room for the 3 days of internal implantation therapy.
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