It is always a scary day when the doctor tells you that you have cancer. Part of the overwhelming feeling you get is because your mind spins as you think about all the different types of cancer treatments you may face. Fortunately, cancer therapies are improving all the time. They have made great strides in cancer treatment over the last decade. Here is a look at the different cancer treatments being used today.
Surgery
This is still one of the preferred cancer treatments when there is a good chance to remove the entire tumor. Many times, surgery is used in combination with radiation or chemotherapy to give the cancer a one-two punch that increases the chance that the cancer will be completely eradicated.
Radiation Therapy
High doses of radiation are effective at killing many different types of cancer. Interventional radiology can be used to minimize the damage and side effects of radiation therapy. Side effects of radiation treatments include fatigue, hair loss, nausea, rash, vomiting, headache and blurry vision.
Chemotherapy
This is often the first treatment that pops into people’s minds when they think about cancer treatment. Chemotherapy is used to treat a huge range of cancers. They are coming up with new, more effective chemotherapy drugs all the time. While chemotherapy is highly effective at killing cancer, the side effects patients experience can be highly traumatic. The side effects of chemotherapy include mouth sores, hair loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. With proper treatment, many of the side effects from chemotherapy treatments can be managed effectively.
Immunotherapy
This is one of the newest forms of cancer treatment, and it is a very exciting form of battling cancer. Immunotherapy is designed to turbocharge the body’s immune system so that it will fight cancer tenaciously.
Targeted Therapy
Another new form of cancer treatment is targeted therapy. This cancer treatment targets the changes that cancer cells make when they divide and grow in the body. With targeted chemical therapy, these changes can be affected to slow down the growth of cancer cells or destroy them completely.
Hormone Therapy
Breast and prostate cancer are two of the types of cancer. Both of these cancer types use the body’s own hormones to grow tumors. With hormone therapy, a reduction in the production of hormones can slow down the growth of breast and prostate cancers.
Stem Cell Transplant
most commonOne of the most exciting new forms of cancer treatment is stem cell treatment. Rather than targeting the cancer, stem cell transplants help restore blood cells in patients who have had theirs devastated by radiation and chemotherapy treatments. This allows the body’s immune system to recovery quickly to protect the patient after high-intensity cancer treatments.
Being diagnosed with cancer today is not as scary as it used to be. With all the wonderful forms of cancer treatments available today, patients have a better chance than ever before to beat cancer. With a positive attitude and the power of modern medicine, cancer can be defeated.
