Lucas Beaumont
Choice of a treatment against the cancer depends upon the type and the stage of cancer. Some other factors like age, allergies, health status of the patient also participate in choosing a particular treatment against the cancer. Some most commonly used treatments against the cancer are- chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgery, biologic therapy and radiation therapy. Cancer treatment by clinical trials is also favorable in some cases.
Various types of treatments against cancer are mentioned below-
Surgery– Surgery is useful in treating, preventing and diagnosing a cancer. Main aim of surgery is to remove all the possible cancerous tissue from the body of the patient. Surgery is required to be conducted in association with radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Some cancers can never be treated, in that specific cases; surgery (palliative) can be used in order to reduce the pains of the patient.
Chemotherapy– Chemotherapy is defined as the use of various medications/drugs/ chemicals to eliminate the cancerous cells from the body of patient. Unlike surgery, chemotherapy produces its effect on whole body of the patient. Rapidly dividing cells of body are the main targets of chemotherapy treatment. Unfortunately, treatment of chemotherapy is not specific; it can’t distinguish rapidly dividing healthy cells from cancerous cells. So chemotherapy possesses great side-effects (like stomach problems and hair loss). Chemotherapy can be given either intravenously (IV) or by pills. Chemotherapy is required to be conducted in association with biologic therapy or radiation therapy.
Radiation Therapy– Radiation Therapy actually involves the use of some type of energy rays to dissolve or kill the tumor/cancerous cells. It has been found the cancer/tumor cells are highly sensitive against energy radiations, so they can be easily destroyed by using radiation therapy. Actually, energy radiations causes sever damage to the DNA of the cancerous cells that makes them un-able to grow and divide. Radiations can be subjected alone, but it can also be given with other treatments like surgery or chemotherapy. Use of associated radiation therapy depends upon the stage of the cancer.
Biologic therapy– Biological therapy involves the use of some highly specific drug molecules that specifically attacks on the cancer cells only. Biological therapy involves specific strategies, for example- restricting the blood supply of the cancer/tumor cells, blocking the regular cell processes of defected (cancerous) cells etc. Biological therapy is required to be conducted in association with other successful treatments against cancer.
Conclusion
In medical terminology, a cancer specialist is known as oncologist. After your diagnosis an oncologist will prescribe you the most suitable treatment that is specifically appropriate for your case. Choice of treatment depends upon many medical and physiological factors. Knowing the type of cancer is the most important step of choosing a treatment, because different type of cancers responds to different type of treatments in different ways. If your cancer is present in early stage then you can choose any of the possible treatments but a fully developed cancer will need a very specific treatment. You should never ignore your quarries of a treatment, because choosing a right treatment is extremely important in order to claim a healthy escape from cancer.
