Cancer Patient Treatment

Cancer patient treatment remains a hot field in medical research, and the survival rates for many cancers are improving. As a cancer patient, you can choose from a variety of treatments, but doctors generally recommend a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and gene therapy. Alternative practices are also available.

Surgery

• As a cancer patient, you will generally undergo surgery. The specific type of surgery depends on the size, location and shape of the cancer, but most cancer surgeries serve one of three purposes:

  Primary surgery removes a cancerous growth along with some of the surrounding tissue. This safety margin prevents the cancer from recurring, or growing back.

  Debulking reduces the size of the cancer, which makes radiation therapy and chemotherapy more effective. Doctors generally debulk the cancer when it cannot be removed completely.

  A third type of surgery treats cancer's symptoms. For example, doctors may perform surgery to relieve a patient's pain or to treat intestinal blockage.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy refers to treatment through chemicals, which enter the body through pills or injections. Unfortunately, the chemicals in chemotherapy cannot tell the difference between cancer and other fast-growing cells, such as hair and blood. As a result, you may lose your hair or experience low levels of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

  One means of controlling chemotherapy's side effects is through fractured doses. With fractured doses, you receive lower amounts of the chemotherapy drugs over a longer period.

Radiation Therapy

• In this type of therapy, a beam of radiation passes through the body, damaging the cancer cells' DNA. The cancer, as a result, will stop spreading, but the radiation may also damage the normal, healthy tissue nearby.

  With medical advancements has come greater precision. For example, one type of radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, can administer a specific dose of radiation without affecting the surrounding tissue.

Gene Therapy

• Though still experimental, gene therapy has shown promise. To fight cancer, gene therapy may strengthen your immune system, cut off the blood supply to cancer cells or cause cancer cells to self-destruct. It may also play a preventive role. Cancer often results from missing or absent genes, and if doctors can replace those genes, then cancer may never develop.

Alternative Treatments

• As a cancer patient, you can also choose to undergo alternative treatments. While these treatments cannot replace conventional surgery or chemotherapy, they may assist in the recovery process. For example, you may undergo physical therapy, mind-body medicine or naturopathic procedures, or you may seek spiritual support.