Cancer Treatments Options

There
are many different types of treatment combinations for cancer and one may wonder
as to how a specific treatment scheme is determined for each cancer patient.
Each cancer treatment plan is personally tailored for patients based on many factors
relating to the cancerous tumor. The article explains about cancer surgery,
chemotherapy, radiation treatments and additional methods. 

Whenever
one hears about ‘Cancer Treatments’ they immediately think of the words: ‘chemotherapy’
and ‘radiation’.  It is unknown to most
how a cancer patient’s treatment is specifically determined. Patients do not
know when will one receive chemotherapy or radiation treatments (or maybe both)
and when one will undergo surgery or maybe none of the above as they will be
introduced to additional treatment options.

Firstly,
it should be known that each cancer patient receives a personal tailored treatment
plan, according to his or her cancerous tumor. When an oncologist approaches a
patient in order to start planning his treatment regime we will look in to a
few different factors including the location of the cancer, the stage of the
cancer, has it spread to other organs, the size of the growth and the specific
type of the disease. In some cases the oncologist may also take into consideration
the age and general health of the patient and in women, the doctor can take
into consideration future procreation preferences. Once all this is known, the oncologist
will design a treatment plan designated for the patient.

Surgery
is one main option for cancer removal, depending on the tumor of course. Not
every cancer is operable as it depends on the stage, size and location of the
growth. If the cancerous cells are accessible and the tumor is still in its early
stages, then the surgeon will prefer to try and remove the whole tumor at once,
pending on the fact that the cancer hasn’t spread. Sometimes, if the infected
organ is not vital to the patient’s life (a kidney or the uterus for example)
then it is possible the surgeon will want to remove the whole organ that
contains the cancer. Sometimes there can be a partial removal of organs with
the cancerous cells.

A
surgery can be accompanied by additional treatments and may not be enough by
itself. These additional treatments can include chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Chemotherapy
is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to try and kill the cancerous
cells in the patient’s body. The drugs are usually given in cycles that are
supposed to maximize its affect which is to stop or slow down the growth of the
cancer cells in the body. The specific type of chemo drugs is decided based on
the type of cancer, whether you’ve gone through chemotherapy before and other
health problems you might have. As stated above, chemotherapy can be the only
cancer treatment; however, it will usually be given along with surgery, radiation
therapy, or biological therapy.

Radiation
therapy describes the use of high-energy radiation (x-rays or gamma rays) to
shrink tumors and destroy cancerous cells. The radiation destroys the cell’s
DNA and cells with damaged DNA stop dividing or die. The rays are delivers by
an external machine or from a radioactive device temporarily placed within the
patient’s body. As with chemotherapy, radiation is often given along with other
types of treatments.

Beyond
these three most common treatments, there are additional types of cancer
treatments. Biological therapy, similar to chemotherapy, fights cancer with the
use of drugs. However, biotherapy works with the immune system and helps the
immune system cells fight cancer while chemotherapy directly attacks the cancerous
cells. Thyroid cancer is treated sometimes with the use of radioactive Iodine
I-131 which is absorbed into the bloodstream with the intention to begin
destroying the gland’s cells and there are also hormonal treatments that are
supposed to balance hormones that encourage the growth of cancerous cells in
the body

As
a final counter measure, cancer patients should always inquire about experimental
treatments and try to get in to clinical trials designated for cancer patients.

For
more information and readings about different types of cancer: Cancer
Treatments Abroad. For information about different medical treatments,
you can visit as us at TicketMed
: Medical Tourism.