Cancer treatments are of different types and they mostly depend on the type of cancer you have and on which stage your cancer has reached. Before moving to the types of cancer treatments, here is a brief on cancer.
Cancer
It is popularly known by many as, tumor. One must understand that most cancers form a lump called a tumor, but all the tumors are not cancerous. It is the name given to a collection of cells that begin to divide without stopping and it also has the ability to spread to nearby tissues. The outgrown number of cells in an area makes it hard for the body to work normally.
In many people, cancer can be treated with the help of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
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Cancer treatment methods:
- Surgery: If the cancer is seen to be localized in one area than most of the people have surgery to get it removed. The surgery is used to remove the nearby tissues that may have cancer too. Surgery is the most common type of treatment done in all types of cancers where the tumor has not spread to other areas.
- Radiation therapy: It is that type of cancer treatment that helps to shrink and kill cancer cells by using high doses of radiations. Radiations destroy the cancer cells so that they don’t grow any further. The radiations are either used alone or in combination with chemotherapy and surgery. Radiations are given in two ways; either it is given in the way of external radiations or in the form of radiation implants.
- Chemotherapy:Another way to cure cancer is doing treatment with the help of strong drugs. The drugs are given either orally or through injections. Generally more than one chemotherapy drugs are used. The chemo- drugs are used in cases of cancers like blood, mouth and digestive tract. Chemo is also used to lower the risk of cancer from coming back again after surgery. Chemotherapy is used to relieve the symptoms of cancers too.
Chemotherapy is given in cycles and each is followed by a resting period. Some drugs work in other ways, i.e. they work when they are given in a row for a few days.
- Immunotherapy: This type of cancer treatment is used to improve your immune system to work to fight the cancer. It boosts your immune system and marks the cancer cells to destroy naturally through immune action. The immune therapy is either given in the form of pills or in the form of injections or by rubbing a cream into the skin.
- Hormone therapy cure for cancer: It is also well known as endocrine therapy. These therapies are given in those cases where the cancers that use hormones to grow are targeted. The therapy either prevents the growth of such hormones or they are prevented to work as they should be working. The therapy is given in the form of a pill or they are given in the form of shots. In some cases the organ producing the hormone might be removed surgically like the ovaries and the testicles. In this case the chances of cancer to return back is very less. This therapy is used in those cases when the cancer needs to be shrunk.
- Targeted therapies:
These are very strong medicines. These are used in the targeted areas and functions. The therapy does not kill the fast growing cancer cells and it takes part in the other things like turning off the signals that initiate the growth of the cancer cells and it also stops the working of blood vessels that grows around the cancer cells.
Also Read: Breast Cancer: Start Your Fight before It Strikes
- Personalised medicines:
This new field uses the best method to treat the cancer. It uses your genetic makeup to find out the best method for treating cancer. However, it is still not so popular around the world.
