Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases the century has seen
and the alarming number of people affected by the disease has made the need to
find a cure for the disease a desperate one. The only way to treat cancer is
early diagnosis and effective treatment immediately. There are many known
methods of cancer therapy like chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, etc. and most
of the time more than one of the methods are followed as a treatment course. Chemotherapy
There are many different kinds of Chemotherapy treatments
and the choice of treatment depends on the type of cancer and the stage to
which the disease has progressed to.
Uses of Chemotherapy - It can be used effectively to destroy
cells that are cancerous and stop them from spreading. It is also used as a
follow-up method after surgery to slow down the growth of cancer cells.
Chemotherapy as a follow-up treatment - As we discussed,
Chemotherapy can be used as a follow-up treatment to either destroy or slow
down the cancer cells. It can be used either after radiation or surgery
treatments to make sure that the cancer cells do not reappear again. Sometimes
it can also be used to destroy cells before a transplant surgery. For example,
Chemotherapy is normally suggested before a peripheral blood stem cell
transplant.
Side effects of Chemotherapy - Though it is an effective
mode of treatment, chemotherapy has its own list of side effects which also
needs to be taken into consideration before the start of the treatment. The
common side effects of chemotherapy include anaemia, appetite change,
constipation, fatigue, hair loss and vomiting issues. Depending on the type of
cancer, it is also possible that chemotherapy can induce fertility changes,
swelling and pain along with changes in urination patterns.
How is Chemotherapy administered ? - Chemotherapy is the
administration of drugs for destroying the cancerous cells and such drugs are
normally given either through intravenous or injection methods. An injection
into the muscle or other part of the body is provided to get the drug in
contact with the affected cells. Radiation Therapy
How does this treatment help ? - Radiation Therapy is the use
of radiations of high-energy that can effectively shrink and kill the cancer
cells. In general x-rays and gamma rays are used in radiation therapies.
Types of Radiation therapy - Radiation therapy is divided
into two types based on the way in which the radiation is provided to the
patient. It is known as external beam therapy in cases where a machine outside
the body administers the radiation or is known as internal radiation therapy or
Brach therapy in case the radiation is provided through a radioactive material
that is placed inside the body nearer to the diseased part. In certain cases,
radioactive substances like radioactive iodine is placed which travels through
the blood to kill the cancer cells. Such kind of radiation therapy is known as
systematic therapy.
How does radiation therapy kill the cancer cells? - The
radiations that are administered in the therapy damage the DNA of the cells and
kill them. The DNA carries genetic information and this is destroyed by
radiation either directly or by creation of charged particles which in turn
damages the DNA. When the DNA is damaged, the cancer cells stop dividing or die
which is then eliminated by the natural process of the body.
Problems of Radiation Therapy - The radiations that are
given to the patient kills not only the cancerous cells but also the other
normal healthy cells that come in contact with the radiations. Cryosurgery
The treatment mode in which extreme cold is used to destroy
cancerous or diseased cells is known cryosurgery or therapy. The cold
temperature is produced by use of liquid nitrogen.
This treatment is normally used for treating tumors that are
external like those on the skin. It can also be circulated internally through a
hollow instrument called the cryoprobe which is used for treatment of internal
tumors and tumors of the bone. Types of cancer that can be treated -
Cryosurgery is widely used for many types of cancers with precancerous and
non-cancerous conditions though it is extensively used for prostate and liver
cancer. Researches are in progress to find the level to which cryosurgery can
be used as an effective means of cancer therapy for breast and kidney cancer.
Side effects of cryosurgery - Though the side effects
associated with cryosurgery are less compared to that of the other traditional
methods, it does cause pain and cramping in the area of treatment. Bleeding,
scarring and swelling can also be the after effects that are linked with this
method of treatment.
As dictated Dr. Glenn
Sheiner is a medical doctor with diplomas in Emergency Medicine, Sports
Medicine, and Family Medicine. Dr. Sheiner is the author of the medical
multimedia digital product called Cancer Research Online Made Easy.
http://EzineArticles.com/364178
There are
many different types of cancer therapies. Some are well established and some
more experimental. Some have proven to be useful only in certain cancers and
not in others.
If you
embark on the path of researching cancer treatments, you'll become very
familiar very quickly with the treatments being used for the particular cancer
you're researching.
This
article is just a basic introduction of various cancer therapies. Before you
ultimately decide on a particular form of therapy you'll need to investigate it
thoroughly.
You'll
need to know the cure rate, the side effects, how long you'll be incapacitated,
etc.
But here
is a very basic introduction:
The most
well-known cancer therapies are:
1.
Surgery;
2.
Chemotherapy;
3.
Radiation Therapy.
Often the
standard treatment for a cancer is a combination of various therapies. For
example, the standard treatment might be surgery followed by chemotherapy or
surgery followed by radiation therapy:
Surgery is the removal of tissue by
physical means such as taking out a cancerous lung or removing a cancerous prostate;
Chemotherapy is a type of drug which kills
cells. The principle is to give toxic substances which kill cells and hopefully
will kill the fastest growing cells (the cancer cells) at a higher rate than
the regular body cells;
Radiation
Therapy is the
killing of cancerous cells using ionizing radiation. This radiation can either
be given internally or, more commonly, externally.
But there
are many other types of cancer treatments. For example:
Hormonal
therapy in which
medication is given to block or enhance the effect of the body's own hormones;
Anti-angiogenesis
therapy in which
drugs are given to inhibit the growth of blood vessels which are the lifeline
of all cancers;
Biological
therapy (also
known as immunotherapy, biotherapy, or biological response modifier therapy).
This type of therapy attempts to use the body's own immune system to fight
cancer. A number of different treatments fall into this category including
interferons, interleukins, colony stimulating factors, monoclonal antibodies,
vaccine therapy, and gene therapy;
Laser
therapy in which
high-intensity light is used to shrink or destroy tumors. Lasers are most
commonly used to treat superficial cancers (cancers on the surface of the body
or the lining of internal organs);
Hyperthermia is a type of cancer treatment in
which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures (up to 113°F) to damage and
kill cancer cells;
Photodynamic
therapy is a
treatment that uses a drug, called a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent,
and a particular type of light. When photosensitizers are exposed to a specific
wavelength of light, they produce a form of oxygen that kills nearby cells;
Targeted
cancer therapies use
drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer. They interfere with specific
molecules involved in carcinogenesis (the process by which normal cells become
cancer cells) and tumor growth;
Cryosurgery (also called cryotherapy) is the
use of extreme cold produced by liquid nitrogen (or argon gas) to destroy
abnormal tissue.
Hopefully
this list will be useful to you when you come across unexpected terms.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your attention . Please writing comment