Cancer is first discovered during about 1 in every 1000 pregnancies. Of these cancers diagnosed during pregnancy about 1 in 4 is a cancer of the cervix (the neck of the womb). This means that cancer of the cervix appearing during pregnancy is uncommon. As a result of this, the relatively small number of women in this situation has made it difficult to produce absolutely reliable statistics.

Fortunately, however, many cervical cancers that are discovered during pregnancy are at a very early stage where they are still only affecting the superficial layer of the cervix (sometimes called micro-invasive disease).

If this is the case then the usual treatment involves a type of minor surgery during the pregnancy called conization which removes the pre-cancerous area and a margin of normal tissue but leaves the cervix largely intact. This is done under a general anaesthetic and involves very little risk for the pregnancy.

Treatment of cervical cancer which has actually begun to invade the deeper tissues of the cervix (invasive cancer) is more difficult to plan during pregnancy as it will involve either surgery or radiotherapy and both of these mean terminating the pregnancy.

This usually means that if an invasive cancer of the cervix is discovered during the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy then the mother would be offered a termination (therapeutic abortion) followed by either radiotherapy or surgery to treat the cancer.

If invasive cancer is found after the 20th week of pregnancy, and if it is still at quite an early stage, as is likely to be the case, it may be possible to delay treatment and allow the pregnancy to continue. It will be recommended that the baby is delivered, usually by caesarean, as soon as possible so that treatment can be started. Any decisions about cancer treatment during pregnancy are always difficult and involve weighing up the risks and benefits to both the mother and her unborn child. The specialists will always have very careful discussions with the mother and other relevant family members, to reach an agreed and informed plan of action.

Once again, it is important to emphasise that the outcome of treatment of cervical cancers which appear during pregnancy is usually excellent, with a very high chance of cure.