Conventional Treatments
What are Conventional cancer treatments?
Conventional cancer treatment is what you are offered in your local hospital or cancer treatment centre. Also referred to as Standard treatment.
Biological Therapy
Some biological therapies for cancer use vaccines or bacteria to stimulate the body’s immune system to act against cancer cells.
Bone marrow transplant
Bone marrow transplantation involves extracting bone marrow containing normal stem cells from a healthy donor, and transferring it to a recipient whose body cannot manufacture proper quantities of normal blood cells.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly. But it can also harm healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those that line your mouth and intestines.
Cell-based Therapies [Dendric Cells etc]
Cell therapy is defined as the administration of living whole cells for the patient for the treatment of a disease. The origin of the cells can be from the same individual or from another individual.
Clinical Trials
Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people.
Cryosurgery
Cryosurgery is a technique for freezing and killing abnormal cells. It is used to treat some kinds of cancer and some precancerous or non cancerous conditions, and can be used inside the body and on the skin.
Hormone Therapy
To slow or stop the growth of certain cancers, synthetic hormones or other drugs may be given to block the body’s natural hormones. Surgery may be needed to remove the gland that makes a certain hormone.
Laser Therapy
A device that may be used to cut or destroy tissue, such as cancer tissue. It may also be used to reduce lymphedema (swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid in tissue) after breast cancer surgery.
Proton Beam Radiation Therapy
This type of treatment can reduce the amount of radiation damage to healthy tissue near a tumor. It is used to treat cancers of the head and neck and organs such as the brain, eye, lung, spine, and prostate.
Radiation Treatment
Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. X-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles are types of radiation used for cancer treatment.
Surgery
Surgery is frequently used to remove cancerous growths or obtain small samples of tissue for examination. For several types of cancer, surgical removal of a tumor may be sufficient to cure the patient.
Targeted Cancer Therapies
Uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific types of cancer cells. Some targeted therapies block the action of certain enzymes or proteins involved in the growth and spread of cancer cells.
Watchful Waiting
Closely watching a patient’s condition but not giving treatment unless symptoms appear or change. Sometimes used in conditions that progress slowly or when the risks of treatment are greater than possible benefits.