Treating Cancer : London Health

There are a number of different cancer treatments available now; the most important aim of the treatment of cancer is to remove the cancerous cells and prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. In many cases, a combination of treatments is used and members of several different healthcare teams will be involved in a patient’s care. Some of the most common treatments are outlined below:

Surgery

Surgery is usually used if the cancer has been diagnosed in the early stages; surgery is a quick and effective way of removing tumours or affected organs (in some cases, the whole organ may have to be removed to rid the patient of the disease; this is most common in breast cancer and prostate cancer).

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is commonly used both before and after surgery and is also often used in conjunction with radiotherapy. Chemotherapy involves the use of very string medication which is designed to break down the DNA of the cancerous cells. Chemotherapy is a very effective treatment but it does have some nasty side-effects including hair loss, weight loss, nausea, vomiting and exhaustion.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy uses radiation to breakdown the structure of the cancerous cells; it also damages healthy cells but they are able to regenerate quickly. Radiotherapy is extremely effective, but like chemotherapy it does have some negative side-effects including hair loss, weight loss, nausea and vomiting, lack of sexual libido and painful skin patches.

Hormone therapy

Hormone therapy is commonly used to slow the growth of cancers such as breast and prostate cancer by cancelling out the actions of testosterone and oestrogen. Although this treatment can be very effective the side-effects may be unpleasant; common side-effects include sweating, nausea, vomiting, weight gain, stiff joints, fatigue and a lack of sexual libido.

Monoclonal antibody therapy

This is a relatively new treatment method which involves the artificial manufacture of antibodies that are then used to tackle cancerous cells; the antibodies are made in a laboratory and are used to kill the affected cells, prevent growth of cancerous cells and deliver small doses of chemotherapy medications to the cells. This treatment may be used if other types of treatment have failed. Possible side-effects of this method include a high temperature, muscle and joint pain, nausea, diarrhoea and irritated patches of skin.