Just because someone has received a cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean that their life is over. Many people can beat cancer with early detection, new treatments, and better healthcare. It’s important to stay positive and know the many different treatment options available. Cancer treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, and other therapies. Treatment differs according to the type and stage of cancer and may include one treatment or a combination of treatments.
Why Opt for Cancer Treatment?
The aim of cancer treatment is to achieve a cure. This may or may not be possible, depending on one’s specific situation. If a cure isn’t possible, one’s treatments will be used to slow the growth of their cancer or shrink it to allow them to live symptom-free for as long as possible.
Types of Cancer Treatment
Primary Treatment
The goal of primary cancer treatment is to eliminate the tumor or kill all of the cancer cells. Surgery is often used as a primary treatment for most cancers, especially if the doctor feels that one’s specific cancer is treatable with surgery. In addition, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy are procedures that can be used as primary treatments for certain types of cancers.
Adjuvant Treatment
Adjuvant treatment is sometimes called a second-line treatment. It involves additional treatment after the primary treatment has ended. It can stop cancer from coming back or reduce the chance of it happening again. Neoadjuvant therapy, on the other hand, is a kind of pre-treatment to make the main treatment better. It can be part of cancer treatment, or it can be used to help one get ready for surgery by shrinking up the tumor to make the surgery less painful.
Palliative Treatment
While cancer treatment is primarily aimed at killing cancer cells, palliative treatments may be used for symptom relief. Surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy can all be used to relieve cancer-related side effects or other signs and symptoms caused by cancer itself. Medications can be given to relieve pain and shortness of breath.
Cancer Treatment Methods
Chemotherapy is the use of particular drugs to kill cancer cells.
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy beams, such as X-rays or protons to kill cancer cells. During radiation therapy, an external machine directs the beam to the radiation treatment area.
Surgery is used to eliminate all or part of one’s cancer.
A bone marrow transplant replaces diseased or damaged bone marrow with healthy bone marrow from a matched donor.