Cancer is considered to be an incurable disease, fatal for the one’s who suffer from it. Any person suffering from cancer has to either undergo through sessions of chemotherapy, radiation therapy or do a surgery. Sometimes, proton therapy, bone marrow transplantation, peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, targeted therapy, gene therapy and use of different lasers in cancer treatments also help in the cure of cancer. But these are decided depending upon which cancer the patient is suffering from and which stage of cancer the patient is in. Here we discuss about the different options available for the treatment of cancer.

Chemotherapy for Cancer Treatment

This is the most commonly used option of treatment for cancer. In this, the patient is given different dosages or drugs or chemicals that target the cancer cells in the human body, and eventually kill them. These drugs are mostly injected intravenously into the bloodstream of the patient and they generally affect the DNA synthesis of cancerous cells in the human body. Before deciding the dosage of chemotherapy for the patient, the body surface area, BFA, is calculated for the patient. These drugs may be given along with the immunotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery. If given along with any of these treatment options, then they are given before the patient undergoes a surgery or sessions of immunotherapy or radiation therapy.

Since chemotherapy works by targeting the cancer cells in our body, sadly other cells like the ones lining our stomach and / or the ones forming the hair follicles also multiply rapidly. That is why, most of the times, any patient after going through the prescribed sessions of chemotherapy, can suffer from vomiting, nausea, hair loss, menstrual changes, depression or fatigue. Fatigue, due to sessions of chemotherapy, can make the patient anemic, in severe cases. In some cases, reduced count of blood platelet is also observed, which can be fatal for the patient.

Radiation Therapy for Cancer Treatment

This is a modern methodology, opted for the treatment of cancer. In this method, the cancer cells are exposed to x-rays or photons or charged particles through a radiation device, either externally or internally. In case of internal radiation therapy, the radiation device is inserted inside the body, near the affected area, where these cells are exposed to the beam internally. This beam of charged particles acts directly on the DNA of the cancer cells, thus making them unable to multiply themselves. As the tumor cells are sensitive towards these charged particles or photons, they die out when exposed.

However, the healthy cells of the body are also affected by these high energy photons. Though these cells not that damaged and can be made healthy, there are some cases where the patients suffer from some skin reactions, nausea, tiredness or loss of appetite after the treatment. The amount of radiation that the patient has to be exposed to is calculated in Gy (Gray). This therapy can be combined with surgery and / or chemotherapy, or can be given alone, depending on the type of cancer and the stage of cancer the patient is suffering from.

Surgery for Cancer Treatment

Surgery is the oldest method of treatment for cancer. It is also one of the effective ways for cure, if the cancerous cells have not multiplied and spread to other parts of the body. In this method the malignant tumor is sliced off from the patient’s body along with the tissue and nodes surrounding it. The option of surgery is only given to the patients who are in the stage 1 or 2 cancers. It is not preferred when the cancer is spread to the lymph nodes inside the body. If the cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes then palliative surgery can be can option preferred by the doctors to relieve the patient from the pain caused by the disease. This type of surgery generally lessens the discomfort and hence is not a preferred option to cure cancer. Any type of surgery for the treatment for cancer is done in combination of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, so that the surrounding cancer cells are also killed in the process.

There are no major side effects of surgery. The patient can experience pain, in the area where the surgery has been performed, for some days after the complete surgery is done. The patient may also take time to recover completely after surgery.

Treatment for cancer differs from person to person, as there are a lot of factors that have to be taken care of before deciding upon the type of treatment for cancer for that person. Sadly there are no options for herbal, natural or alternative treatment for cancer. Hence the patient has to undergo any of the above mentioned methods for treatment for cancer to get a relief from cancer.