Conventional Cancer | The Treatments

Conventional Cancer | Treatments And Cures | Radiotherapy | Chemotherapy | Surgery

Once any cancer has been confirmed, it's time to determine the ways to treat it.
The three basic conventional cancer treatments are as follows:

Radiotherapy

Chemotherapy

Surgery

When discussing the options with your doctors, you may discover that you will benefit from one treatment or possibly a combination of all three.



Radiation


Radiation is used to locally target cancer cells that are rapidly dividing inside the body.

It is often recommended for most kinds of solid tumors, whether in the brain, breast, prostate or lung.

It can also be used to treat lymphoma and leukemia.

The main aim of radiation is to eliminate the entire tumor while it still occupies a confined area and limit the damage to nearby cells.

Treatments involve passing ions through body tissue in order to kill or genetically alter the target cells.

Most normal healthy body cells can recover after the radiation treatment.


The two main types of radiation are:


Photon

Particle


Each type deliver different amounts of energy and each varies in their side effects. Some treatments penetrate deeper into the tissues than others.

Around 50% of all people diagnosed with cancer have radiation as part of their treatment.

Doctors often spend time with each person to develop a radiation plan for the particular type of cancer.



Chemotherapy


Chemotherapy is a drug administered to the body in order to destroy cancer cells and prevent new cells from emerging.

Sometimes it is the only form of conventional cancer treatment.

May consist of more than one type of drug, this can be referred to as combination chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy can be taken orally but more commonly by ways of an intravenous injection.

Neoadjuvant therapy is when a doctor prescribes chemotherapy to shrink a tumor before trying any radiation treatment or surgery.

Chemotherapy that is used to destroy cells that linger after surgery or radiation is referred as adjuvant therapy.

Chemotherapy has many side effects because it targets many body cells.

Cells that replicate, or keep growing, like hair, nails, bone marrow and cells in the digestive system are also affected.



Surgery


Surgery is the oldest method of treating cancer.

Different cancers require different types of surgery.

Though surgical procedures have improved in recent years, the process can be physically and emotionally taxing.


Types of surgery may include:

Curative surgery

Curative surgery is often performed when cancer cells are localized and may be removed almost entirely by operation


Debulking surgery

Debulking surgery removes only part of a tumor, leaving radiation or chemotherapy to kill the remaining cancer cells.
Debulking surgery is used in situations where removing the tumor would damage nearby organs


Diagnostic and staging surgery

Diagnostic and staging surgery help doctors evaluate how far cancer cells have spread

Sometimes other types of surgery will be performed to assist the treatment process or reduce the negative effects of treatment.

• Cancer Radiotherapy
  
  Cancer Radiotherapy - What is radiotherapy and how can it help in the treatments of cancer.
• Cancer Chemotherapy
  
  Cancer Chemotherapy - What is chemotherapy and how can it help in the treatments of cancer.
• Cancer Surgery
  
  Cancer Surgery - Surgery can provide great benefits for those with cancer, such as saving a life, preventing or curing cancer, restoring function or appearance, or just making life a lot more comfortable.