Vulval cancer treatment at GenesisCare

The vulva is the name given to all the external genitals that surround the opening of the vagina. Cancer of the vulva (also called vulval cancer or vulvar cancer) is rare, with around 1,300 people in the UK diagnosed with it each year.

Treatment for vulval cancer typically depends on how big the cancer is, whether it’s spread and your general health. Diagnosing cancer of the vulva early often allows for more treatment options and better outcomes.

As the UK’s leading specialist independent cancer care provider, we offer you first-class treatments that will be managed by a team of specialists in vulval cancer. You can be reassured that they’ll work closely with you to identify the best personalised care plan for your diagnosis.

The main treatments for vulval cancer are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

To help ensure the best outcomes are achieved for you, we combine your treatment with personalised integrative cancer care which is proven to improve outcomes. This includes a programme of exercise medicine and access to a wellbeing expert and holistic therapies such as counselling, acupuncture, massage and reflexology through our unique partnership with the Penny Brohn UK charity.

It is our commitment to offer world-class cancer care to all of our patients, to achieve the best outcomes possible.

We understand that this may be a very worrying time for you. But please remember that symptoms you may be experiencing can often be caused by other conditions, not only vulval cancer. If you're concerned about vulval cancer symptoms, you should speak with your GP.

Surgery is the main treatment for vulval cancer. If your consultant recommends surgery for you, the type of operation you have will depend on the size and depth of your cancer, where the cancer is on your vulva, and where it may have spread to.

Our cancer specialists have close relationships with top surgeons from local and nationally renowned hospitals. They’ll work with them and other gynaecological experts to decide the best course of treatment for you. This can be arranged conveniently at one of our partner hospitals. You can then continue your other treatments at GenesisCare.

Radiotherapy uses targeted, high-energy radiation beams to destroy cancer cells.

You usually have radiotherapy after surgery to the vulva, or you may have it before your operation in order to shrink your cancer before surgery. Radiotherapy is also used to help control the symptoms of advanced vulval cancer or if your cancer has returned. And sometimes people only have radiotherapy when surgery is not appropriate or possible.

At GenesisCare, we’re the leading independent provider of radiotherapy in the UK and offer world-class expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and advanced radiotherapy techniques. Our latest-generation radiotherapy machines deliver highly targeted radiation beams with sub-millimetre accuracy, which makes them extremely effective and minimises the radiation dose to healthy tissues.

Our expert multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), consisting of oncologists, radiotherapists, and medical physicists, will oversee your radiotherapy treatment. By working closely together, they will put together a personalised treatment plan for you that ensures you always get the best possible care.

At GenesisCare, we offer many of the newest drug therapies that can be used to treat and manage vulval cancer. Depending on how these treatments are provided, you may need to attend one of our private chemotherapy suites, which are staffed by our specialist nurses.

Our compassionate nursing teams are available 24/7 on a dedicated on-call telephone service, and they can answer any queries during your treatment. They can also provide advice about side effects and symptoms, and help to arrange appropriate medical care when needed.

There are different types of drug treatments, also called systemic anti-cancer therapies. Our expert teams continually review and assess new treatments to make these available to our patients as early as possible.
All GenesisCare centres have received the Macmillan Quality Environment Mark, which is awarded to cancer environments that go above and beyond to create welcoming and friendly spaces for people living with cancer.

Targeted (also called biological) therapies are a specialised group of drugs that are designed to attack or block specific processes in cancer cells that tumours depend on to survive and grow.

Immunotherapies work by helping your body’s own immune system to recognise and fight the cancer.

If your cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it may be called advanced, metastatic or stage 4 vulval cancer. At GenesisCare, your specialist may recommend palliative drug treatment for advanced vulval cancer to reduce the size and progress of your cancer and ease pain and other symptoms.

For some advanced cancers, we use specialist tests, such as liquid biopsy or genomic testing, to understand the genetic make-up of cancer cells. This helps us to identify which drugs are available to work against specific genetic mutations in a cancer, allowing us to start effective treatment without delay.

There may also be opportunities to access clinical trials for the newest drug treatments for vulval cancer.

No treatment is without side effects. Your doctor will explain these to you before you start your course of chemotherapy. They will also discuss how your treatment plan and supportive care can help to manage or minimise these side effects.