There are many methods by which cancer can be treated. But the three main methods of cancer treatment are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The type of treatment depends on a number of factors including type of cancer, stage of cancer and the general state of your health. For best results, one must find the best cancer treatment hospital in India.
Surgery:
Surgery can be used to diagnose, prevent, stage and treat cancer. Surgery can also be for palliative care, to get rid of the discomforts caused by cancer. In some cases, a single surgery can serve more than one of these needs.
Surgery to diagnose cancer:
Surgery can help diagnose cancer by removing a small piece of sample tissue and testing it to find out if a person has cancer and what type of cancer it is. The process is called a ‘biopsy’ and it is done by examining the tissue under a microscope. The process of taking a biopsy depends on what isthe suspected nature of cancer.
Surgery to stage cancer:
This is done to find out what the extent of cancer is and how much it has spread. During this surgery, the lymph nodes near the tumour as well as nearby organs are studied. This is crucial as it determines the course of treatment and judge how the patient will respond to the treatment.
Curative surgery:
Primary or curative surgery is commonly conducted when cancer is found in only one part of the body and there is chance to remove it completely. In such a scenario, surgery is the main line of treatment. This surgery may be used on its own or in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, prior to or after the surgery.
Surgery for debulking cancer:
Debulking surgery is used to get rid of some but not all the cancer. This is done in cases where operating on the whole tumour will damage nearby tissues or organs. In these cases, doctor will operate as much of the tumour as possible and treat the remaining with chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatments.
Palliative surgery:
This surgery is done to relieve symptoms caused by advanced cancer. This includes symptoms that cause disability or discomfort. It helps to control pain which is difficult by other means.
Reconstructive surgery:
It is done to rebuild how a person looks like after major surgery. Example is breast reconstruction after breast surgery.
Preventive surgery:
This is done to remove body tissue which has the potential to turn cancerous.
Chemotherapy:
It refers to using of drugs fortreating any condition, but mostly cancer. Radiation and surgery kill cancerous cells but chemo works on the whole body. This implies that chemo can destroy kill cancer cells that have spread or metastasized to parts far removed from the original tumour. There are three main aims of chemo treatment: Cure, Control, and Palliation.
Cure is usually difficult via chemo and doctors often refer to the treatment as that with ‘curative intent’. By control, the cancer is not allowed to multiply and spread. Chemo can be also palliative, easing the discomfort caused by cancer.
Radiation Therapy:
This treatment uses high energy waves or particles to kill cancer cells. It is a main type of cancer treatment often used by itself or combined with other techniques. There are two types: external radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy.
External radiation therapy is like an X-ray. It is free of pain and takes a few minutes. Internal therapy refers to putting radioactive implants in the body using tubes that are like needles. It requires hospital stay.
Whatever be the mode of treatment, one can do well by approaching best hospitals in india for cancer treatment. This way, you reduce the chances of going wrong.
