If you have been diagnosed with uterine cancer, ask to be referred to a gynecologic oncologist—a doctor who has been trained to treat cancers of the female reproductive system. Your doctor will work with you to create a treatment plan that may include surgery, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of these treatments.

Surgery

The different types of surgery to remove uterine/endometrial cancer include:

• Hysterectomy—a surgical procedure to remove the uterus and the cervix. A hysterectomy may be performed in several ways:
  • Vaginal hysterectomy—The uterus and cervix are removed through the vagina.
  • Total abdominal hysterectomy—The uterus and cervix are taken out through a large incision in the abdomen.
  • Total laparoscopic hysterectomy—The uterus and cervix are taken out using small incisions in the abdomen using a laparoscope for removal through the vagina.
  • Laparoscopic robotic hysterectomy—a minimally invasive surgical procedure treats endometrial cancer using the da Vinci Robot as part of the laparoscopic removal of the uterus and lymph nodes and sentinel lymph nodes. The robot enables our surgeons to do more complex operations laparoscopically.
• Lymph node dissection—this can be performed minimally invasively or during an open procedure. Lymph nodes in the area are sampled.
• Sentinel lymph node mapping and dissection—dye is injected into the cervix to detect the first lymph node that drains the uterus
• Debulking—surgically removes as much of the cancerous tumor as possible

Nonsurgical Therapies

After surgery, you may require additional treatments. We offer non-surgical treatments including:

• Chemotherapy
• Hormone therapy
• Immunotherapy
• Targeted therapy
• Radiotherapy

Some women who still desire childbearing can be treated with hormones and keep their uterus.