Cancer Treatments

Cancer treatment is an ongoing process. Medical experts are continuously on the lookout for improved and more effective treatments for cancer patients. Depending on the type of cancer, various treatments are available today. Some of the common ones are:

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy is a method that involves killing the cancer cells by injecting them with drugs. The infected cells divide rapidly and chemotherapy helps to slow down the growth of these cells using chemicals. Chemo can be used to either cure, control cancer or to eradicate cancer symptoms.

Radiation:

Radiation too, destroys cancer cells. However; it is carried out by transmitting high energy radiation directly to the infected cells. These rays can be transmitted from a radioactive substance planted within the body or by an external source.

Cryosurgery:

This method is used to freeze the infected cells which are generally found outside the body on the skin. Liquid nitrogen which produces an extreme temperature is sprayed or dabbed to freeze these cells. This method can also be used to cure internal cells where liquid nitrogen is injected by an instrument called cryoprobe and is kept in contact with the cells.

Various other cancer treatments are also available:

Bone Marrow Transplantation:

This method is usually used in conjunction with some of the others listed above. Chemo or radiation kills the rapidly growing cells which also includes healthy ones. Bone marrow cells also contain the high dividing capacity and are found inside the bone. This transplant allows replacing the damaged (healthy cells) with the bone marrow cells. These bone marrow cells help the patient to produce other blood and oxygen carrying cells as required by the body.

Biological Therapies:

This method uses the body’s inbuilt immune system to combat the cancer cells. With this kind of therapy, the body uses its own cells and organs to fight the invaders or the cancer cells. The downside of this therapy is that the body doesn’t always identify cancer cells as foreign particles. Also, when the immune system is week, the body cannot fight.