All Cancer treatment options
Cancer treatment is not one single thing. It is a broad field that includes a host of conventional and alternative treatments aiming to cure, control, or palliate the disease, as well as a wide range of complementary therapies and strategies that may help patients cope better with treatment and, in some cases, potentially improve outcomes and survival.
This page provides an overview of the cancer treatment options patients should know about. The goal is not to reduce cancer treatment to simple formulas, but to make a complex landscape easier to understand.
The four types of treatment
Conventional Treatments
The only treatments aimed at eliminating cancer that are offered by state-run cancer clinics and hospitals in Ireland and many other countries.
See Conventional Treatments
Alternative Treatments
While Alternative cancer treatments are generally used in place of Conventional treatments such as chemo and radiation, some are now becoming standard of care. (i.e. High Intensity Focused Ultrasound and Mistletoe Therapy).
Alternative treatments offer the only hope for some patients, especially those for whom conventional treatments have failed to offer any benefit.
See Alternative Treatments
Complementary Therapies
A range of therapies, products, and strategies that are used in addition to conventional or alternative treatments.
See Complementary Therapies
Integrative Treatments
Integrative medicine is a total approach to care that combines conventional medical treatment with the complementary and alternative practices that have been shown to be safe and effective. Offered by private clinics outside Ireland.
See Integrative Treatments
Palliative care vs standard care for stage 4 patients
Living better may also mean living longer.
This study of randomized intervention trials looked at whether or not living better may also mean living longer. The majority of trials showed a survival advantage for patients (with a variety of cancers) randomized to psychologically effective interventions.
In this study, 151 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer were randomly assigned to receive either early palliative care integrated with standard oncologic care or standard oncologic care alone. Early palliative care led to significant improvements in both quality of life and mood. As compared with patients receiving standard care, patients receiving early palliative care had less aggressive care at the end of life but longer survival.
See also:
Cancer Tests
Questions to ask about your proposed treatment
Last updated January 2026