Options Available for Cancer Treatment

The cancer treatment options that are available to you are dependent upon your physician's recommendations. His recommendations will be based upon the type and stage of the disease that you have, the possible side effects you could encounter, your personal preferences and the state of your general health. When it comes to your care, a team of doctors often work together to create a plan that combines a variety of therapies. This is what is known as a multidisciplinary team.

The therapies that are most commonly put into play include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The physician may decide to use only one kind of cancer treatment or he may feel that it is in your best interests to try a combination. One therapy may be put to use and if it is only mildly successful, something else may be tried. Not every patient responds to the same type of care plan.

There is palliative therapy which is a system that is put into place to help relieve the symptoms of the disease and the symptoms of the cancer treatment that is being used. In particular, it is used to target the pain that the patient is experiencing due to the condition.

There are also other types of care systems that the multidisciplinary team may decide would be beneficial for the individual. There is targeted therapy, hormonal therapy and immunotherapy. Yet another option is stem cell or bone marrow transplantation. Before starting a care plan, find out everything you can about the options that are before you. Talk at length with your physicians and do research online and at the local library. The more information that is made available to you, the better able you will be to understand the disease you have and the most effective means of treating it. Learn every detail that you can.

It is a good idea for those who are suffering from cancer to consider clinical trials that are taking place at present or in the near future. Talk with your healthcare practitioner when you are in the process of making decisions about the care you require to get better. A clinical trial can be described as being a research study that tests a new form of cancer treatment to find out if it is effective, safe and potentially more successful than the conventional therapy. Your physician can assist you in reviewing all of the options you have when it comes to clinical trials.

The first cancer treatment that will be administered to you is referred to as first-line therapy. If the plan does not work as it is supposed to, the individual will be given second-line therapy. In some cases, third-line therapy may be used if the first two are not as effective as expected.

Adjuvant therapy is a plan that is administered after the first option has been exhausted. An example of this would be chemotherapy after surgery has been done. Neoadjuvant therapy is given to the patient before the primary therapy, such as radiation before surgery.