The most ideal treatment for cancer is the complete removal of the tumor without any damage to the rest of the body. Achieving such kind of cure with near zero adverse effects is possible with surgery; however there is always a chance that the cancer invades the adjacent tissues or it could also spread to distant sites in the body. This reduces the effectiveness of the surgery even if it was expertly performed. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are known to have negative effects on the normal cells of the body.
There will never be a single cure for cancer. However, there are various treatments that are used in combination to provide patients with the highest degree of wellness possible. Today, there are plenty of treatments available for cancer. Surgery is a very popular treatment for 'local only' cancers. Localized tumors are easily removed with the help of surgery. Surgery is also used to control the symptoms such as spinal cord compression due to the presence of a large tumor etc. Surgery may be chosen as a treatment method either before or after chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy is the use of ionizing radiation that helps kill the cancer cells. It is also used to shrink the tumors. The effects of the surgery are localized and limited to the area that the beam is targeted to. It damages the genetic material of the target tissues and restricts them from growing, dividing and spreading to other parts of the body.
Chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to treat cancer. These drugs target all rapidly dividing cells and hence stop the cancer cells from dividing and spreading to other parts of the body. The side effect of this treatment is that it may also affect non cancer cells.
Targeted therapy, hormonal therapy and immunotherapy are some of the other forms of cancer treatments that help in cancer management.
Symptom control is important to restore the quality of life of cancer patients. It is an important factor to determine whether the patient is capable of undergoing other treatments.
It is important to reduce the pain, nausea and vomiting that is induced by chemotherapy. Other after effects such as diarrhea and hemorrhage need to be taken care of. Palliative care has hence become a popular specialty for cancer treatment.
The aim is to get the patient to be as comfortable as possible with the least amount of medication. Cancer related fatigue is a very common problem and plays an important role in a patient's quality of life.
Overall, most of the cancer treatments include procedures with some amount of side effects and it is of utmost importance to provide them with the right kind of care so that they can live a comfortable and near to normal life. After effects of any treatment cannot be avoided or eliminated entirely. However, pain control and other symptom control is an important part of providing cancer patients with quality services that make their treatment worthwhile.
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