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Regional Cancer Center
Cervical Cancer is Preventable, Treatable and Curable
While exact and definitive causes of most cancers remain unknown, physicians and
researchers know that the human papillomavirus, HPV, plays a causative role in the
development of cervical cancer.
“There are more than 200 subtypes of HPV,” says James Orr, M.D., gynecologic
oncologist. “HPV 16 and 18 are the two most commonly seen in connection to
cervical cancer in the United States. HPV also has been found to cause cancers of
the vagina, vulva, anus and some head and neck cancers.”
Dr. Orr explains that HPV—which is spread by both men and women through
sexual contact—is common, and as many as 70-80 percent of women will have
contact with it at some point in their lives. “If you have HPV, it does not mean that
you will develop cervical or other gynecological cancer,” Dr. Orr
says. “It just means that you are at higher risk.”
Whether diagnosed with HPV or not, Dr. Orr
urges women to have annual Pap smears. “Early
detection of precancerous changes enables us
to use local methods of treatment,” he says.
“If the lesion becomes invasive, we start to
worry about the cancer spreading and the
treatment options shift to more radical
surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.”
For women diagnosed with cervical
cancer, it is important to see a gynecologic
oncologist because the best outcome occurs
with the correct combination and sequencing
of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Additionally, Dr. Orr says the surgery options—
including radical hysterectomy, trachelectomy
(fertility-sparing surgery) and sentinel lymph node
dissection—can be done via a minimally invasive, laparoscopic approach.
“Women need to know that cervical cancer is preventable, but also treatable and
curable, even at an advanced stage,” Dr. Orr says. “It is crucial that women take the
steps—through regular screening—to fight the disease.”
James Orr, M.D.
Florida Gynecologic Oncology
8931 Colonial Center Drive, Suite 200
Fort Myers, FL 33913
239-334-6626
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