It could be overwhelming to find out that your loved one is diagnosed with cancer.
There would be so many questions in your mind.
Here, we shall help you understand the most common cancer treatment options available.
This will help you gain some confidence when your consultant talks to you about your treatment options.
The most common treatments available today are: Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is the most common cancer treatment.
It includes the use of drugs or medicines.
There are over a hundred drugs in use today for chemotherapy.
These drugs are chosen depending on the type of cancer you are detected with.
Chemotherapy can keep the cancer from spreading, it can slow the growth of the cancer, kill the cancer cells that have spread to the other parts of the body and also cure the symptoms of cancer such as pain or blockages.
Immunotherapy Everybody has its built-in immune system that helps it fight diseases.
Immunotherapy makes use of this built-in immune system to fight cancer.
This type of treatment generally includes the use of medicines or some kind of proteins to boost the immune system and make it strong enough to fight the cancer cells.
Radiation therapy In this type of treatment, high energy wave particles are used to destroy or damage the cancer cells.
This is one of the most common treatments used to fight cancer.
This treatment is most commonly used in combination with other forms of cancer treatments to kill the cancer spreading cells before they can cause more damage to the body.
Targeted therapies Targeted therapies use drugs that block the growth of cancer and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the body.
These medicines interfere with specific molecules - especially those that are involved in the growth, progression and spread of cancer.
These are sometimes called as targeted drugs.
They block tumor cell proliferation and effectively kill tumor cells.
Transplants Stem cell transplant, peripheral blood, bone marrow can cord blood transplant are some of the methods used to cure cancer by means of transplants.
The stem cells are used when the bone marrow has been destroyed by a particular disease - such as cancer.
Transplanting stem cells can be a great way to cure cancer.
Other treatment options Other options in cancer treatment include cryosurgery, hyperthermia, laser treatment and photo dynamic therapy.
All of these are used to target the cancer cells and either destroy them or prevent the spread or slow down the speed of regeneration among the cancer cells.
It is important that you talk to your doctor at the cancer hospital and make sure you understand the process and the treatment.
This will make it easier for you to cope with the disease.