Cancer Treatment and Therapy
Cancer treatment is aimed at two things: firstly, the tumor has to be removed as soon as possible to eliminate any symptoms connected with its presence. Secondly, further growth and development of cancerous cells has to be prevented for other parts of the body not to be affected. Very often cancer therapy can be harmful for the patient: cancer drugs are created to destroy rogue cells, but they may have the same effect on the cells that are healthy. Therefore, cancer therapy should be carefully considered before its administration.
Here are the most effective and commonly used cancer treatments:
Cancer Surgery
Surgical removal of the tumor is obviously the most frequently used cancer treatment method. The success of the operation greatly depends on the size of the growth and its location (when only one spot has been affected).
Cancer Radiation
Cancer radiation can be either internal or external. The first one is performed with the help of a pellet of a wire inside a capsule, emitting radiation and located inside the tumor or near it. For the period of treatment, the patient is isolated. External radiation involves X-raying of the affected area: this also helps destroy cancerous cells. Radiation is often combined with other cancer treatments: chemotherapy and cancer surgery.
Cancer Chemotherapy
In this method drugs and toxic substances are used to destroy cancerous cells. Cancer chemotherapy is administered when rogue cells managed to spread beyond the tumor and could have reached other locations. The drugs can be given intravenously or orally.
Although chemotherapy is usually given after the surgery and radiotherapy, there are cases when it’s used first: for example, when it’s necessary to reduce the tumor or kill rogue cells to provide for a more efficient treatment. In cases when chemotherapy is used after other methods, it successfully destroys all the remaining cells.
Immunotherapy
This is a comparatively new method used to treat cancer. The main purpose of immunotherapy is to destroy cancer cells using certain chemicals the body produces, such as interferons. When the patient receives interferon, it stimulates the immune system and the body fights the disease more efficiently.
Hormone Treatment
Some hormones are known for contributing to the development of certain types of cancer, such as breast, uterus and prostate cancer. In this kind of cancer therapy the drugs slowing down the production of such hormones are used. They can’t cure cancer but will considerably prolong the life of the patient with a hormone-related cancer.
Transplantation of Bone Marrow
Transplantation of bone marrow is a complicated operation that involves the removal of bone marrow from one person (the donor) in order to give it to the patient. The patient and the donor have to be close relatives or have the same characteristics of blood. This method is necessary in case the patient has gone through a radical cancer treatment and his or her own bone marrow has been destroyed.
Back to Cancer
