The type of treatment offered to cancer patients depends on the type of cancer they are diagnosed with and how advanced it is. Some people will only have one treatment, while others will have a combination. Let’s compare the different treatments available.

Surgery

A surgical procedure is performed by a surgeon to remove the cancer from the body. Before opting for surgery, patients should study what to expect before, during, and after the procedure.

Radiation Therapy

High doses of radiation can kill cancer cells and shrink tumors by damaging their DNA. There are types of radiation, so patients should study their side effects and other details.

Chemotherapy

This type of cancer treatment uses drugs to kill cancer cells or slow the growth of cancers that grow and divide quickly. It can also shrink tumors that cause pain and other problems.

Immunotherapy

It is a type of biological therapy that helps your immune system fight cancer. In this therapy substances made from living organisms are used to treat cancer. It changes the normal cells around the tumor so that they interfere with how the immune system responds to the cancer cells.

Targeted Therapy

Here, the treatment targets DNA and changes and proteins that drive cancer. These are usually small-molecule drugs or monoclonal antibodies. They stop cancer cells from growing or cause them to self-destruct.

Hormone Therapy

This treatment stops or slows the growth of breast and prostate cancers that use hormones to grow. It can also reduce or prevent the systems in men with prostate cancer who can’t have surgery or radiation therapy.

Stem Cell Transplant

This procedure restores blood-forming stem cells in cancer patients who have had their cells destroyed by very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. They most often help people with leukemia and lymphoma.

Precision Medicine

This approach allows doctors to select treatment based on a genetic understanding of their disease. One day precision medicine will be tailored to the genetic changes in each person’s cancer.

Biomarker Testing

This is a way to look for genes, proteins, and other substances that can provide information about cancer. Biomarkers affect how certain cancers work and can help your doctor choose a treatment for you.