Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy (also called chemo) uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy either kills the cells or stops them from dividing. Chemotherapy for vaginal cancer or cervical cancer is injected into a vein. When given this way, the drugs enter the bloodstream to reach cancer cells throughout the body.

It is not known if chemotherapy is an effective treatment for childhood cervical cancer or vaginal cancer, although drugs commonly used to treat these cancers in adults, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, may be used.

Learn more about how chemotherapy works, how it is given, common side effects, and more at Chemotherapy to Treat Cancer and Chemotherapy and You: Support for People With Cancer.