Cancer Treatments: Know How Cancer is Treated

Cancer treatment is being developed continually with advanced technologies. Nowadays, better, targeted and more effective treatments are available to cure cancer. With advanced treatment methods, the outcomes have also improved over the years.

Cancer treatment aims to:

• Control the disease
• Improve the condition
• Prevent cancer recurrence and
• Alleviate the symptoms caused by a tumour

The major cancer treatment options are surgical treatment, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy. But today various immunological therapies, as well as smart drug delivery methods, are also being used for targeted drug delivery and quicker cure. There are many varieties of cancer treatment drugs available in the market today. The drugs are used in combination with other cancer treatment options for faster and better results.

Cancer therapy is customised or personalised as per the patients. That’s why its treatments vary from person to person. The treatment option may be influenced by the cell type, location of tumour, distribution and the patient’s condition and other illness symptoms. Even the pros and cons of a treatment on a particular patient are assessed beforehand. Your doctor will decide the type of treatment suitable for the patient’s current condition, while the patient may express their wishes on the matter as well.

Types of Cancer Treatment

Here are various cancer treatment options available for alleviating this condition:

Surgical Treatment

Surgical procedure is used to treat cancer by removing cancer cells from the body of a patient. You may learn the different ways how surgery can be used for removing cancer and what to expect before, during and after surgical treatment.

Radiation Therapy

It is another cancer treatment option that’s used with the help of high radiation doses to kill cancer-causing cells and to shrink tumours. You also need to be aware of the side-effects of this treatment before undergoing the procedure.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is one of the most common types of cancer treatment using drugs for killing cancer cells. This treatment is used for eradicating rapidly growing cancer cells and prolonging the life of the patient. However, hair loss is its major symptom.

Immunotherapy

It is also referred to as biologic therapy. It is used for treating cancer by enhancing the body’s immune system to fight against cancer cells.

Targeted Therapy

This treatment targets the cancer cells and elements in your body that help them divide, grow and spread. It works by targeting specific genes, tissue and proteins of cancer cells to stop their growth.

Hormone Therapy

This cancer treatment helps in slowing or stopping the growth of prostate and breast cancers that require hormones for growth.

Stem Cell Transplant

Stem cell transplants for cancer treatment is an effective procedure to restore blood-forming stem cells in patients who have had undergone radiation therapy or chemotherapy before. The cell transplantation is derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or peripheral blood.

Precision Medicine

Precision medicine is an approach that allows doctors to select specific treatments, which are most likely to treat patients as per the genetic understanding of their disease. This approach is also termed as personalised medicine treatment.

Combination therapy

Cancer treatment also involves combination therapy for curing the condition. This treatment approach refers to the combined use of different forms of treatments, such as radiotherapy, surgery and drugs. This therapy aims to enhance the chances or scope of a patient’s recovery.

Adjuvant therapy

Adjuvant therapy has been used for supplement surgery. Chemotherapy or radiotherapy is provided followed by the surgery for adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment. It also ensures that all cancer cells are destroyed while improving the patient’s prognosis.

Supportive therapy

The supportive cancer treatment is used for alleviating all the symptoms of cancer or its treatment. This helps in improving a patient’s well-being during and after cancer treatment. For example, anti-nausea medicines are used during chemotherapy as part of supportive therapy. Cancer pain treatment is also a type of supportive therapy.

Palliative care

Palliative care is used for alleviating the patient’s psychological and physical symptoms while improving quality of life. Palliative care is best used during cancer treatment or for treating the symptoms occurring during cancer treatment. A patient may require palliative care for several months or years. The most common symptoms cured by palliative care are constipation, pain, fatigue, nausea and confusion. Palliative care is offered, along with curative treatment, soon after the cancer diagnosis.