How is Cancer Treated?

There are three choices for the treatment of cancer: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. When two treatments are used together, it is called "combined modality therapy."

Surgery

Surgery treats tumors in certain areas. Surgery is a good choice if the tumor has not spread. If the tumor has spread or it is located near a vital organ, surgery may not be an option. Two surgical approaches are used. Sometimes the tumor is removed following a biopsy. Other times, surgery is performed to examine the tumor in order to gather cells for the biopsy. If the biopsy shows cancer, the physician, the patient and their family can discuss the best approach to care. This could mean further surgery or another treatment option.

Radiation

The purpose of radiation is to make tumors shrink or disappear. Patients experience no pain or discomfort during the radiation treatment, which usually only takes a few minutes. Radiation focuses in on specific sites in the body. It may be the only treatment needed, or it may be used along with other kinds of therapy.

Chemotherapy

This treatment uses special medication (anti-cancer chemicals) taken by mouth or given through the patient's veins. Chemotherapy is used in a variety of ways: to cure specific types of cancer, slow tumor growth, relieve pain, shrink tumors before or after surgery and destroy or slow growth of tumors that have traveled to other parts of the body (metastases). In addition to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, other treatment options are available that may be right for you and your type of cancer.

Biological Therapy

This therapy is a new treatment that uses the body's immune system to combat growing cancer cells.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies that test new treatments for people with cancer. These trials are done to improve current treatments. Each clinical trial has a protocol that explains how it will work. A board of professionals (such as the National Cancer Institute/ http://www.cancer.gov/) reviews the protocol to assure that the research will not expose patients to excessive or unethical risks. Each protocol must be approved by the organization that sponsors the study. Eligibility for a clinical trial differs for each study depending on the purpose of the research. For more information on clinical trials, ask your physician.