Treatment of cancer
There are many different types of treatments for cancer. In order to offer the greatest chance of healing, most people receive treatment for two or more species. The treatment you receive depends on your age and health, the type of cancer you have and the location of the tumor. The various treatments are briefly explained here.Surgery
In a surgical operation, the tumor, or part of it, is cut out of your body. It is a very effective way of treatment - after all, a large part of the cancer cells is removed within a very short time. Thereby there is a lot of chance of healing. But it is virtually impossible to remove all malignant cells, so surgery is almost always combined with another type of therapy, aimed at killing the remaining cells. There are different techniques that can be used during the operation, each with its own name:- Laser surgery: a laser is used instead of a scalpel.
- Cryosurgery: the tissue is destroyed by the use of extreme cold.
- Endoscopy: a very small viewing tube is used to reach the tumor. Depending on the location in the body, this may have a different name.
- Robot surgery: a computer is used that operates remote instruments at a distance. The surgeon can control this robot very precisely.
It is not always possible to operate. For example, if the tumor has grown too far into surrounding tissues, or if the tumor is too close to vulnerable blood vessels or organs, which can become damaged during surgery. In addition, surgery is a major attack on your body, and it takes a lot of energy to recover from it. It is therefore not always advisable for someone with poorer health.Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with drugs, which aim to reduce the cell growth of cancer cells. The medicines can be administered in different ways: as pills, with an injection or via an infusion. They are absorbed into your blood, allowing them to enter anywhere in your body. So also with metastases. The drugs are especially effective against the cell growth of cells that rapidly divide. These are cancer cells, but some healthy cells are also affected. This causes side effects such as fatigue or hair loss.The most commonly used form of chemotherapy is via an infusion. That happens in the hospital. The administration of the medication can take a few minutes, but sometimes also several days. The duration depends on the type of chemotherapy you receive. After the administration of the medication follows a rest period of a few weeks. The treatment and the rest period together form a chemotherapy. Chemotherapy usually consists of multiple chemotherapy.
Radiotherapy (radiation)
The goal of radiation with radiotherapy is to destroy the cancer cells. They damage the cells so that they die and can no longer share. Because radiation passes through everything, it also damages healthy cells. That is why it is important to ensure that the radiation is aimed at the cancer cells as precisely as possible.There are two ways to irradiate. The most common way is external radiation, with radiation from outside through your skin. For this a machine is used that looks a bit like an X-ray machine. The machine sends one or more beams of rays to the tumor. Sometimes radiation is not irradiated from the outside, but internal radiotherapy is used. Then radioactive material is placed near the tumor. That is only possible if the tumor is easily accessible. The advantage of internal radiation is that a high dose of radiation can be given in a small area, with less risk of damage to healthy tissue.
Hormone therapy
In hormone therapy you get hormones that inhibit or block the action of hormones. So it is actually anti-hormone therapy. It is mainly used in forms of cancer that are specific to men or women, such as breast cancer, uterine cancer or prostate cancer. This is because these cancers are located in parts of the body, the growth of which is sensitive to hormones. And cancer cells in those parts are too.Hormone therapy causes the production of the hormones that the cancer cells are susceptible to slow, or that the supply of hormones to the area with the cancer cells stops. This can cause side effects, so women sometimes get involved early in the transition.
Targeted treatments
Targeted therapy is, just like chemotherapy, the administration of medication. But targeted treatments are even more specific to the cancer cells and disrupt the healthy cells less. As a result, you also get less problems with side effects.There are three types of targeted therapy. They focus on specific abnormalities of the cancer cells in your body. This way they can block the formation of new blood vessels around the tumor, so that the cancer cells no longer get oxygen and die. Or they block certain parts of the cells, so that they no longer grow or do not activate. Not all types of cancer can be treated with targeted therapy. In order to determine whether it is suitable for you, the doctor often has to first investigate the composition of the cancer cells. If it is determined that you can benefit from targeted therapy, the disadvantage is that the treatment often takes longer before it is effective.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy does not directly affect the tumor or the cancer cells. Instead, it focuses on your immune system. Cancer cells often occur as healthy cells. But immunotherapy ensures that your body recognizes the cells as malignant, so that your immune system is stimulated to tackle the cancer cells. It is often used to clean up any metastases.
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