What Are the Different Types of Cancer Treatment?

 

Cancer is a sad reality in our world. It’s difficult to define because there are a lot of different types of disease, although all of the same class, that qualify for the name “cancer.” Because there are so many types of cancer, there is no one treatment that’s suitable for them all. If you’re wondering about the different kinds of treatments available for this class of disease, read on for some facts about the way we typically treat this disease:

• The recommended treatment depends on a lot of personal factors. When a person is diagnosed with cancer, there are a lot of advanced cancer treatment options available depending upon the type of cancer and what stage it’s in, the possible side effects of the different treatments, and the patient’s preferences, age, and overall health condition. Surgery that might be right for one patient may be totally wrong for another, even if they have a similar kind of cancer. Cancer treatment therapy has to consider multiple factors.
• Radiation therapy largely treats localized cancers. This is usually a cancer treatment therapy given when the cancer is contained to one area. It bombards that area with radiation, often from high energy x-rays, that destroys the cancer cells. Approximately half of all people treated for cancer will have radiation therapy at some point.
• Proton therapy is a newer and potentially safer type of radiation therapy. Some types of cancer are very tricky to treat because the cancer is sitting next to or on something essential. That means any radiation runs the risk of damaging healthy tissue. Proton therapy is a type of radiation that can be directed in a very targeted manner. For breast cancer care, for instance, traditional radiation will typically reach the heart and lungs. With proton cancer treatment therapy, no radiation reaches the heart and the amount reaching the lungs is generally 50% less than the traditional method. Similar benefits manifest in prostate cancer treatment, where the risk of impotence is greatly reduced compared to radiation treatment, and 94% of men who have proton beam radiation report that they are able to remain sexually active.
• Chemotherapy is used to treat cancers that have spread throughout the body. This type of cancer treatment therapy uses strong drugs, given orally or by injection, which move through the bloodstream. Chemotherapy is usually given in conjunction with surgery. The surgery removes as much of the cancer as is possible, and the chemotherapy can slow the growth of cancer, keep it from spreading, help to kill some of the cancer cells, and decrease the risk that the cancer might come back after surgery.
• Bone marrow transplants are for very special types of cancer. This type of therapy is typically an option for leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as some genetic diseases. In this treatment, stem cells are taken from the blood of a donor and given to the patient by IV. The hope is that the new cells will return blood counts to safe levels.

Cancer affects nearly everyone in our country, either directly or indirectly. Every year, 23,800 adults and 4,830 children receive a diagnosis of cancer in the spine or brain, and the statistics for prostate, breast, and other types of cancer are similarly high. Our ability to treat cancer improves every year, and new cancer treatment therapy becomes available all the time. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with some kind of cancer, make sure you seek out all the possible options to find what’s best for you.