Vaginal Cancer Center

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer of the vagina is a rare kind of cancer in women, accounting for less than two percent of all gynecological cancers. The vagina (also called the birth canal) connects the cervix (the opening of the womb or uterus) and the vulva (the folds of skin around the opening to the vagina).

Vaginal cancer is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the tissues of the vagina, or the passageway through which fluid passes out of the body during menstrual periods and through which a woman has babies.

There are two types of cancer of the vagina: Squamous cell cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cells are the thin, flat cells lining the vagina. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of vaginal cancer and is usually found in women between the ages of 60 and 80. Adenocarcinoma begins in glandular (secretory) cells in the vagina and is more often found in women between the ages of 12 and 30. 

A Pap test (also known as a Pap smear) can identify cancerous cells in the vagina and the cervix. It is possible to develop vaginal cancer even if you have had a radical hysterectomy (in which both ovaries and the uterus are removed). Thus, it is important for every woman to have an annual pelvic exam and Pap smear, even if she has had her uterus removed.

Young women whose mothers took DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic form of estrogen, while pregnant are at risk for getting tumors in their vaginas. Some of them get a rare form of cancer called clear cell adenocarcinoma. The drug DES was given to pregnant women between 1945 and 1970 to prevent miscarriages.

Fighting Vaginal Cancer at CTCA

At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), we use many tools to help you fight vaginal cancer. Our cancer experts provide a powerful combination of traditional and new, innovative therapies for vaginal cancer. Your CTCA care team will work with you to determine the most appropriate combination of therapies.

For example, fractionated dose chemotherapy divides a powerful dose of drugs into smaller doses, given over a period of several days. This approach exposes cancer cells to the drugs for a longer period of time, while also seeking to reduce the unpleasant side effects often experienced with the larger doses of standard chemotherapy.

Vaginal cancer can be emotionally devastating to a woman. In addition to conventional vaginal cancer therapies, CTCA enriches your treatment by offering complementary and alternative medicine therapies, such as naturopathic medicine, nutrition therapy, mind-body medicine, spiritual counseling, and image enhancement.

At CTCA, we fight alongside you every step of the way.