{"id":5,"date":"2012-02-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/treatments-for-cancer\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:55:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:55:53","slug":"treatments-for-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/treatments-for-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Treatments for Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are four standard methods of treatment for cancer:<\/strong> surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy and biologic therapy. Clinical trials may be an option for some as cancer treatment who meet certain study criteria. Others may choose alternative cancer treatments, which are usually not FDA-approved and often given in locations outside of the U.S.
\nWhen initially diagnosed with cancer, a cancer specialist, an oncologist, will provide you with the cancer treatment options. He or she will recommend the best treatment plan based on your type of cancer, how far it has spread, and other important factors like your age and general health.
\nUltimately, you are the one who makes your treatment decisions based on your doctor\u2019s recommendations, possible second opinions, and other information gathered from qualified professionals.<\/p>\n

\nSurgery:<\/strong> Surgery can be used to prevent, treat, stage (determine how advanced the cancer is), and diagnose cancer. In relation to cancer treatment, surgery is done to remove tumors or as much of the cancerous tissue as possible. It is often performed in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
\nFor those whose cancer is not treatable, palliative surgery may be an option to relieve pain that may be caused by the cancer. Palliative surgery is not intended to treat or cure the cancer, or even to prolong life, but more to lessen discomfort.<\/p>\n

Chemotherapy:<\/strong> Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses of drugs to eliminate cancer cells. Unlike surgery, chemotherapy affects the entire body, not just a specific part. It works by targeting rapidly multiplying cancer cells. Unfortunately, other types of cells in our bodies also multiply at high rates, like hair follicle cells and the cells that line our stomachs. This is why chemo can cause side effects like hair loss and an upset stomach.<\/p>\n

Chemotherapy is most commonly given by pill or intravenously (IV), but can be given in other ways. A single type of chemotherapy, or a combination of drugs, may be prescribed for a specific length of time. Like surgery, chemotherapy can be prescribed alone, in conjunction with radiation therapy or biologic therapy.
\nRadiation Therapy:<\/strong> Radiation therapy uses certain types of energy to shrink tumors or eliminate cancer cells. It works by damaging a cancer cell\u2019s DNA, making it unable to multiply. Cancer cells are highly sensitive to radiation and typically die when treated. Nearby healthy cells can be damaged as well, but are resilient and are able to fully recover.<\/p>\n

Radiation therapy may be given alone, along with chemotherapy, and\/or with surgery. The decision to combine radiation therapy with other types of treatment depends on the stage of cancer and other factors.
\nBiologic or Targeted Therapy:<\/strong>
\nBiologic therapy is a term for drugs that target characteristics of cancerous tumors. Some types of targeted therapies work by blocking the biological processes of tumors that allow tumors to thrive and grow. Other types of therapies cut off the blood supply to the tumor, causing it to basically starve and die because of a lack of blood.
\nTargeted therapy is used in select types of cancer and is not available for everyone. It is given in conjunction with other cancer treatments.<\/p>\n

Clinical Trials:<\/strong> Research studies of the latest drugs and therapies against many types of cancer are continuously being conducted. This type of research requires human volunteers to test the safety and effectiveness of new therapies. Volunteers must meet the criteria of each study to participate.<\/p>\n

Other treatments:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Targeted Therapy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Targeted therapy is a newer type of cancer treatment that uses drugs or other substances to more precisely identify and attack cancer cells, usually while doing little damage to normal cells. Targeted therapy is a growing part of many cancer treatment regimens.<\/p>\n

As researchers have learned more about the gene changes in cells that cause cancer, they have been able to develop newer drugs that specifically target these changes. Treatment with these drugs is often referred to as targeted therapy. Targeted therapy drugs work differently from standard chemotherapy drugs. They are often able to attack cancer cells while doing little damage to normal cells by going after the cancer cells\u2019 inner workings \u2014 the programming that makes them different from normal, healthy cells. These drugs often have different (and often less severe) side effects than traditional chemotherapy drugs.<\/p>\n

Still, chemotherapy (chemo) is defined as the use of drugs to treat cancer. Since targeted therapy drugs are given to treat cancer, they are still technically chemo drugs. But because they have different side effects, we often talk about them separately.<\/p>\n

Targeted therapies can be used to treat different kinds of diseases. Here we will focus on their use to treat cancer. Some of the cancers that may be treated with targeted therapy include certain types of lung, pancreatic, head and neck, liver, colorectal, breast, and kidney cancers.<\/p>\n

Targeted therapies are a major focus of cancer research today. Many future advances against cancer will probably come from this field.<\/p>\n

Hyperthermia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hyperthermia means a body temperature that is higher than normal. High body temperatures are often caused by illnesses, such as fever or heat stroke. But hyperthermia can also refer to heat treatment \u2013 the carefully controlled use of heat for medical purposes. Here, we will focus on how heat is used to treat cancer.<\/p>\n

When cells in the body are exposed to higher than normal temperatures, changes take place inside the cells. These changes can make the cells more likely to be affected by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Very high temperatures can kill cancer cells outright, but they also can injure or kill normal cells and tissues. This is why hyperthermia must be carefully controlled and should be done by doctors with experience in using it.<\/p>\n

The idea of using heat to treat cancer has been around for some time, but early attempts had mixed results. For instance, it was hard to maintain the right temperature in the right area while limiting the effects on other parts of the body. But today, newer tools allow better control and more precise delivery of heat, and hyperthermia is being studied for use against many types of cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are four standard methods of treatment for cancer: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy and biologic therapy. Clinical trials may be an option for some as cancer treatment who meet certain study criteria. Others may choose alternative cancer treatments, which are usually not FDA-approved and often given in locations outside of the U.S. When initially […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1836,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,1],"tags":[7,8,9,10],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cancer","category-todays-news","category-uncategorized","tag-cure-cancer","tag-different-treatment-types-for-cancer","tag-treament-for-cancer","tag-treatments-for-cancer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1836"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions\/26"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/coslow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}