There are various options available for the treatment of cancer. Your Doctor decides on the right treatment for you depending on the type of cancer you have developed, and at what stage your cancer has been detected. Doctors also take into consideration the possible side effects you suffer as a result of the treatment and your physical ability to deal with these.
Treatment ranges from a single form to a combination of two or several forms. Patients and their families are involved in the decision about the treatment options your Doctor advises for your treatment. While you feel anxious and overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge to overcome the disease, the task becomes a little easier once you know about the treatments.
Treatment Options
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Targeted therapy
- Hormone therapy
- Stem cell transplant
- Medication
Surgery
This is a surgical procedure to remove the cancerous cells from your body. It is performed by trained surgeons. Your surgeon opts for either open surgery or minimal invasive surgery as required. Open surgery removes the cancerous growth along with adjacent healthy tissues and lymph nodes. Laparoscopic surgery involves inserting cameras and apparatus through holes drilled in the body to remove the growth with less impact on surrounding tissues.
Radiation therapy
This treatment uses high doses of radiation to cauterize and shrink cancer growths and stop them from spreading. External Beam Radiation uses machines to direct rays towards your cancer growth without touching the body. Internal Radiation puts radiation source in solid form close to the growth for targeted release or liquid form in the blood stream enabling it to travel through tissues and target random cancer cells.
Chemotherapy
This entails use of specific drugs to kill cancer cells to stop or retard cell growth. It is useful for cancer cure, preventing recurrence, stop or shrink growth of cancer cells.
Immunotherapy
This is a biological therapy that aids the immune system to fight cancer. It uses living organisms to improve the functioning and impact of the immune system. Monoclonal antibodies bind to specific targets and trigger immune responses to kill cancer cells. Adaptive cell transfer increases the natural ability of T cells to resist cancer. Cytokines are the body’s own protein products used to enhance the response of the immune system. Treatment vaccines work against cancer cells by triggering opposition to their growth.
Targeted Therapy
This challenges the changes of cancer cells and affects their ability to divide and grow. This is done by the use of small molecular drugs or monoclonal antibodies.
Hormone Therapy
It is particularly useful for breast cancer. It stops or slows down the production of hormones that encourage growth of cancer cells. They work in two ways: by blocking the production of the hormone in the body or by changing the behavior of these hormones.
Stem Cell Transplant
This procedure replaces blood producing stem cells in patients whose blood cells have been damaged or destroyed due to the disease or therapy.
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