Aging Gracefully and with Great Health

Cancer: What It Is And Treatment Options

6 October 2021 by For Content

Finding out you or a loved one have been diagnosed with cancer is scary. Cancer is a very serious, incurable disease. Though there may not be a cure, there are fortunately a few ways to treat cancer. 

What Is Cancer?

Cancer occurs when the body's cells grow and spread throughout other parts of the body. These cells are growing when they shouldn't be and can be already damaged or dying cells, which can cause tumors to form. The cancer cells are usually able to trick the body into helping the tumor grow while also tricking the immune system into protecting the tumor instead of killing it. Cancer is a serious disease that needs to be treated as soon as it is found to give the carrier the best odds of surviving. 

Cancer Treatment Options

Depending on the area you live in, most hospitals and/or cancer treatment centers should offer many different cancer treatment options. 

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is one of the most widely known treatment options. Chemotherapy refers to the use of drugs to kill cancerous cells. Chemotherapy will usually cause side effects because it can also affect healthy cells in the body. 

Chemotherapy can be given in some of the following ways:

• Pills
• Through an IV
• Topical cream
• Injection
• Catheter

Chemotherapy is used to kill cancerous cells, but it's also used to shrink tumors. This can be helpful before a tumor removal surgery. Chemotherapy can also be used after a tumor removal surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells in the body. 

Hypothermia or Thermotherapy

Thermotherapy occurs when the body's tissues get heated up to kill the cancer cells. The treatment option does not normally harm the healthy cells and tissues of the body. 

Thermotherapy is commonly used to treat the following cancers:

• Skin
• Breast
• Cervical
• Lung
• Brain
• Rectal

Thermotherapy is commonly paired with chemotherapy for a better chance of killing all of the cancer cells. Thermotherapy is completed by having probes inserted into the area of the body that needs treatment. 

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy occurs when large amounts of radiation are used to shrink and kill cancerous cells. Radiation therapy is completed internally by having a capsule containing radiation placed into the body. Alternatively, it can be completed externally by using a beam to send radiation to the area of the body needing treatment.

Radiation therapy can also be used before and after surgery to shrink and/or kill remaining cancer cells and tumors. Radiation therapy is limited. It can only be used so many times before it starts causing more harm than good. 

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