Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body starts growing out of control and invading other tissues. In most cases these cancer cells form a tumour, which can spread to other parts of the body. There are many different forms of cancer that all behave very differently, and therefore there are many methods to treat and cure the disease. The choice of treatment depends upon the location of the tumour, the stage of the disease and the grade of the tumour, as well as the general state of the patient.

The most common cancer treatments are surgical oncology, laser surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Laser surgery is often used to destroy tissue or to seal tissues or vessels, where large tumour blocks the swallowing tube and windpipe while cryosurgery uses a liquid nitrogen spray or sometimes an extremely cold probe to freeze and kill abnormal cells that might develop into cancer cells. With chemotherapy (also called chemo) you treat cancer with different kinds of drugs that can destroy cancer cells.

The most common cancer treatments

Cancer surgery treatment (surgical oncology)

Surgery is the oldest form of cancer treatment. It also plays an important part in diagnosing the process of the disease and how far it has spread in the body. This process is named staging. Surgery offers the greatest chance for cure for many types of cancer, especially for the types that have not yet spread to other parts of the patient’s body.

There are many types of cancer surgeries. Below is a list of the most common ones:

• Curative surgery is done when a tumour is found in just one part of the body and when the tumour is likely to be removed through a single surgery.

• Preventive surgery is done to remove body tissue that likely will become cancer even though there are no signs at the present stage.

• Diagnostic surgery is done to find out how much cancer the patient has and how far it has spread in the body.

• Debulking surgery removes parts of the tumour and is performed when removing the entire tumour would mean to much damage on the near-by tissues or an organ.

• Biopsy is performed to diagnose the stage of the cancer. The surgeon here removes a tissue sample of the tumour and examines under a microscope.

• Endoscopy removes a small piece of the tumour through a thin needle or a lighted tube called an endoscope. The endoscope sometime has a viewing lens and a video camera to clearly see the tumours in the area. This is a very efficient method to determine the size of the tumour.

• Laser surgery is often used to destroy tissue or to seal tissues or vessels, which when it comes to cancer treatment is used to relieve symptoms, such as when a large tumour block the swallowing tube and windpipe, causing eating and breathing problem.

• Cryosurgery uses a liquid nitrogen spray or sometimes an extremely cold probe to freeze and kill abnormal cells that might develop into cancer cells. This treatment is usually used at a very early stage of cancer conditions, affecting the cervix, penis, skin and prostate.

Chemotherapy

With chemotherapy (also called chemo) you treat cancer with different kinds of drugs that can destroy cancer cells. There are different kinds of drugs for different stages of the disease, and different ways to receive chemotherapy. The most common types to give chemo is orally (in pill form), intravenously (also called IV, when a needle or tiny plastic tube is inserted into your veins) or as an injection or needle. Chemotherapies are often combined to complement each other and work together.