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 Your cancer treatment options are influenced by the type and stage of your cancer, as well as personal factors, including your age, overall condition, and personal preferences. Depending on the characteristics, your physician may prescribe one or more of the major treatments, which include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and biological therapies. These treatments may be used separately, concurrently, or in sequence to provide effective treatment and prevent recurrence.
Surgery
Surgery is used in both the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Biopsies, a type of surgery where a tissue sample is taken for examination from a suspected cancer, are commonly used in diagnosis and staging. A positive biopsy denotes the presence of cancer. When used as treatment, surgery can remove the cancer and adjacent tissue, as well as assist in determining whether other treatment options are necessary.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is any treatment which uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Treatments may consist of a single drug or a combination of drugs, and are administered by pill, injection, or IV infusion. Since the drugs given during chemotherapy treatments circulate in the blood, allowing them to treat cancer cells a long distance from the original cancer, it is considered a systemic treatment. And, many of the side effects once associated with chemotherapy can now be controlled. So, most people taking chemotherapy can continue to participate in normal activities during their treatment.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy rays to stop cancer cells from growing and dividing. Similar to surgery, it is a local therapy, meaning it is not useful for eliminating cancer that has spread to other areas of the body. Radiation therapy may be administered internally or externally. Internal radiation, or brachytherapy, is the implantation of radioactive material in or near the tumor. External radiation includes the delivery of high-energy rays directly to the tumor from a machine outside of the body.
Hormonal Therapy
Cancer that occurs in hormone-sensitive tissues of the body, such as the breast or prostate gland, can actually be caused by the body’s own hormones. In these cases, treatments may involve the administration of drugs that block hormone production or removal of organs that secrete hormones. Hormonal treatment, like chemotherapy, is a systemic treatment which can treat cancer cells throughout the body.
Biological Therapy
Referred to as immunologic therapy, immunotherapy, or biotherapy, biological therapy uses the body’s immune system to assist in the elimination of cancer cells.
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