Treatment
Our Premier Health cancer specialists comprehensively treat gynecologic cancer, including:
Our Premier Health Gynecologic Oncology Center, located at Miami Valley Hospital South, provides high-quality, patient-focused care with advanced technology, innovative programs, and experienced caregivers.
All care and treatment, except radiation, occur at our center, offering you convenient, comprehensive, streamlined services. This includes an infusion room dedicated exclusively to our gynecologic cancer patients.
If you need radiation therapy, we offer multiple locations for your convenience, including Miami Valley Hospital South. Your radiation treatment plan may determine the locations available to you.
We’re dedicated to customizing your gynecologic cancer treatment with a focus on your individual needs and quality of life.
How We Treat Gynecologic Cancer
We’ll consider the type, size, and stage of your gynecologic cancer, plus your age and overall health, to recommend one or more of the following treatment strategies:
- Surgery to remove the primary (main) cancer tumor or other tumors
- Chemotherapy/radiation therapy to kill or stop the growth or spread of cancer cells
- Chemotherapy/radiation therapy to prevent or delay your cancer's return
- Symptom management for pain or other cancer-related symptoms
We hold multispecialty tumor conferences routinely where specialists from our gynecologic cancer care team meet to review and discuss your medical condition, treatment options, and treatment progress. This is especially important when managing complex cases.
Gynecologic Cancer Surgery
Surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and cancer cells in surrounding tissue is generally the first line of treatment for early stages of gynecologic cancer.
If cancer is located in your uterus, cervix, or ovaries, a surgical procedure called hysterectomy is typically performed.
At Premier Health, we offer traditional surgery as well as advanced, minimally invasive surgical techniques. For some types of gynecologic cancer, we may use robotic-assisted surgery for better visualization while sparing healthy vital structures.
For more advanced stages of gynecologic cancer, surgery often is part of an effective treatment plan, along with medical therapies and/or radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of the two is sometimes used before surgery if we want to shrink a large tumor to make it easier to remove.
Medical Therapies
Medical therapies often provide additional ways to eradicate cancer cells, either before or after surgery. We provide these medical therapies in an infusion room that’s dedicated exclusively to our gynecologic oncology patients. This means your infusion time will be spent with other women navigating similar journeys.
As additional support, Premier Health offers complementary services, such as massage therapy and art therapy, available to you during your infusion appointment.
At Premier Health, we offer these medical therapies for gynecologic cancer:
Chemotherapy, which can be given as pills, an injection, or through an IV, is used to stop the growth and spread of cancer cells. We may use this before surgery to shrink your tumor or after surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells. We aggressively treat not only your cancer, but also the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea, or pain.
Immunotherapy/biologicaltherapy boosts your immune system to increase your body’s natural ability to fight cancer. It’s used when cancer cells have tested positive for specific gene changes.
Tumor-targeted therapy involves analyzing your tumor and selecting a combination of drugs to combat your specific type of gynecologic cancer. At Premier Health, we offer several targeted therapy options. Not every patient is a candidate for targeted therapy.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses beams of intense energy to destroy cancer cells, while keeping normal organs safe. At Premier Health, we offer four types of radiation therapy for people with gynecologic cancer. Radiation treatments may be given before, after, or instead of surgery. Your gynecologic oncologist will talk with you about which approach is best for your specific cancer and unique circumstances.
Radiation therapy options for gynecologic cancer include:
- Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Our radiation oncology experts deliver high-energy X-rays from multiple angles to your tumor. A computer performs advanced calculations so a linear accelerator machine can deliver radiation precisely to the tumor, while limiting damage to surrounding healthy tissue. You’ll receive treatments over multiple days.
- 3D Conformal Radiation. This radiation therapy is called external beam radiation and is used if your tumor has an irregular shape or is located close to healthy tissues and organs. Our newer linear accelerator allows your doctor to see your tumor in three dimensions and sculpt radiation beams to the tumor’s shape, sparing healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. You’ll receive treatments over several days.
- High-Dose-Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy. This additional radiation therapy option for treating gynecologic cancer (cervical, endometrial, vaginal, and vulvar) delivers radiation (gamma rays) directly into your tumor. HDR brachytherapy is often given with IMRT/3D conformal radiation. During treatment, we place a high-activity, tiny radioactive source right next to your tumor. Nearby normal organs are not affected. The small radioactive seed is placed at the end of a wire, which travels within a small tube to an applicator placed close to the tumor site. This is a same-day outpatient procedure, which takes about two to four hours for applicator placement, imaging, and treatment. Patients typically receive treatment in two to six sessions.
- Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT). SBRT or SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) is sometimes used when a patient may not be a candidate for HDR brachytherapy. Higher doses of radiation are delivered to the tumor via a linear accelerator machine while you lie on a treatment table. CT imaging precisely pinpoints the tumor’s exact location. This treatment uses intensely focused multiple radiation beams to efficiently destroy the localized tumor. If your gynecologic oncologist has recommended SBRT, you will generally have two to five treatments, with each treatment taking about 20 to 25 minutes.
To improve the precision and accuracy of IMRT, 3D conformal, and SBRT treatments, Premier Health offers image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), using imaging technology such as CT scans or X-rays during radiation therapy. Our linear accelerator machines are equipped with IGRT imaging technology to image the exact location of your tumor before and during treatment. This allows your doctor to use higher doses of radiation to destroy the cancer and avoid harming healthy tissue nearby.
Interventional Radiology
Our interventional radiologists are specially trained to offer you advanced treatments and procedures for difficult-to-treat tumors using image-guided therapies.
Often referred to as interventional oncology, this treatment is one of the newest and most aggressive options in cancer treatment today. It targets and treats cancers that cannot be treated surgically. Instead, radiologists use extreme heat, cold, or microwave energy to kill tumors. There is a low risk of complications, and many people return home the same day.
Hospice And Palliative Care
Palliative care focuses on managing pain, anxiety, and other symptoms – rather than providing a cure – so you can enjoy life more fully. You can receive palliative care throughout your cancer treatment and even when you stop receiving treatment. Our palliative care team can also help family members cope with caregiving responsibilities and provide support and resources for financial, legal, insurance, and end-of-life concerns.
Hospice care generally is reserved for the last six months of life – to improve the quality of your time with family and friends once curative treatment stops. Choosing hospice doesn’t mean that you or your family is giving up hope. Instead, hospice care focuses on you as a whole person, helping you take steps to live as comfortably and as fully as possible.
Clinical Trials
Our cancer specialists actively participate in regional, national, and international research networks. Clinical trials provide another option when standard treatments aren’t working. Our goal is to connect you with the latest advances in cancer care. Talk to your doctor about your clinical trial options and learn more about clinical trials at Premier Health.
Your Gynecologic Cancer Care Team
Treating gynecologic cancer requires a team approach. Our board-certified, fellowship-trained gynecologic oncologists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists communicate regularly to discuss your diagnosis, treatment plan, and treatment progress.
Our gynecologic oncologists are board-certified obstetrician/gynecologists who’ve undergone additional years of training to diagnose and treat gynecologic cancer. This training includes surgical procedures as well as coordination of medical and radiation therapies.
Our highly experienced, oncology-certified nurses are uniquely qualified to answer your questions and help you navigate:
- Surgical preparation and postoperative concerns and questions
- Chemotherapy treatment options and side effect management
- Survivorship issues
- Quality-of-life considerations
Rounding out our core care team are infusionists, a women’s health nurse practitioner, a nurse educator, licensed social workers, clinical research nurses, and a dietitian.
We also have pathologists to assist with diagnosis and cancer staging throughout your cancer journey. As needed, we’ll consult our specialists in wound care and hyperbaric oxygen treatment for optimal tissue healing.
Customized Treatment of Your Gynecologic Cancer
Learn more about how we customize treatment for these types of gynecologic cancer:
Contact Us
Call the Premier Health cancer hotline at (844) 316-HOPE(844) 316-4673 (4673), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to connect with a Premier Health cancer navigator.