Lets Fight Cancer One treatment at a time
In 2016, an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 595,690 people will die from the disease. Moreover, the number of new cancer cases will rise to 22 million within the next two decades. Scary stuff right? Imagine how those who are suffering from this disease may feel! What if you were told you have this life threatening disease that has no cure? You would probably instantly panic! However, all hope is not lost. There are many effective treatment options available that can treat and combat the disease such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. Learning about these treatments could benefit cancer patients, others that are affected in some way, and those who are just interested to learn more about the disease.

Surgery
To carry out this treatment option a surgeon uses medical tools, lasers, and other techniques to remove cancer from the body. To be more specific, a surgeon may use a scalpel to cut open the body and remove cancerous tissue. This technique is used with different types of cancers that has settled in one particular area. A surgeon could also use a laser, in which high beams of light penetrate and cut through tissues allowing infected areas to be removed. Laser removal surgery is commonly used for cervical, vaginal, esophageal, and non-small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, a surgical technique known as cryosurgery involves exposing patients to extreme cold through liquid nitrogen or argon gas to destroy abnormal cancer tissue. This method is used to treat early-stage skin cancer, retinoblastoma, and precancerous growths on the skin and cervix. Overall, all of these methods of surgery are effective and may be the only treatment needed to combat a patient’s cancer depending on their condition.

Chemotherapy
This treatment option involves using chemical agents to destroy multiplying cancerous cells in the body. It is a staple treatment option for treating cancer. This may be because chemotherapy has the ability to combat widespread or metastatic cancer through-out the body unlike surgery, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. Many people have to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy depending on the type of cancer, its progression, and why it is being used. Chemotherapy can be used to make a tumor smaller before surgery, destroy extra cancer cells that are still present from surgery or radiation therapy, and enhance the effectiveness of other treatments. On the downside it can cause many side effects because the process not only damages cancer cells but healthy cells as well. Mouth sores, hair loss, nausea and fatigue can all occur from the treatment. Overall, this method is effective as it destroys tumor cells and give a patient’s normal cells time to heal.

Radiation Therapy

This process utilizes high dosages of radiation to kill cancer cells, shrink tumors, or slow the growth of tumors. There are two different types of radiation therapy: external beam and internal. External Beam Radiation therapy involves a machine that aims beams of radiation at the site of the cancer. It treats the specific area of the body where the cancer is present. In contrast, internal radiation therapy is a treatment option in which a source of radiation is put inside the body in the form of a liquid or solid. Solid sources can be seeds, ribbons, or capsules and a liquid source can be radiation medicine administered through an IV. Both forms of radiation are helpful in treating cancer.

Hormone Therapy
Hormones are chemical messengers that are excreted by glands (such as the pituitary) that make up the endocrine system. They are responsible for regulating the function of cells in the body. Research has proved that some cancers actually thrive off of hormones. With this in mind physicians use drugs to block hormone receptors, prevent hormone production, or eliminate hormone receptors in order to stop them from fueling certain cancers. Hormone therapy can be administered through oral medication, an injection, or surgical intervention. Hormone therapy is mainly used to target breast and prostate cancer. It is a systematic therapy that travels through the body unlike radiation therapy or surgery.

Overall, even though there is no cure to completely eliminate cancer these treatment options are very popular and effective. There is no 100% guarantee that they will work for every patient but they have saved many of lives. If you or anyone you know have been diagnosed with cancer inform them to never lose hope and be open to treatment.