Decisions about cancer treatment are among the most important you'll ever make. Research has led to many ways to treat cancer, and continues to do so. Your doctor may suggest both traditional and new methods to treat your cancer and address side effects, and you may be faced with various options.
"Don't be afraid to ask a question, and don't be afraid to get a second opinion. Feel comfortable about your treatment rather than just accepting it. It's empowering to be proactive!"
Depending on the type of cancer you're dealing with, your treatment may involve some or all of the following:
- Standard of care - the current "gold" standard, which is the best treatment available. This may include surgery, the use of anti-cancer drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or radiation therapy.
- Off-label treatment - use of an approved and commercially available drug for a different disease, or at a dose different than what the FDA has approved. Doctors use a treatment off-label when they see (and often when research shows) that a treatment for one type of cancer also works for another type. This is a common and legal practice
- Clinical trials - carefully designed research studies that test promising new treatments. All of the cancer therapies available today were developed through clinical trials. Patients in clinical trials are carefully monitored and receive at least the best known treatment available. Clinical trials may offer patients the chance to use a new therapy often many years before it is generally available, and the chance to add to the knowledge of doctors and scientists.
Discuss your options with your healthcare team, and do not hesitate to seek a second or third opinion to be sure you-re taking the right path.
Depending on your type of cancer, your doctor may recommend a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and novel therapies for treatment. Be sure to ask your doctor about each kind of treatment to determine if any or all might be right for you. The following information describes the primary types of cancer treatment:
- Surgery - removal of the cancerous tumor or tissue to diagnose the cancer, determine if the cancer has spread, or help control pain.
- Chemotherapy - medicines or drugs taken orally (by mouth) or through an intravenous line (a needle in your vein) to control or eliminate cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy - using radiation to target cancer cells and kill them.
- Novel therapies - these treatments are also called "targeted therapies" because they target individual cancer cells and leave normal cells alone (unlike chemotherapy and radiation). Types of novel therapies include anti-angiogenesis therapy, which helps stop cancer cells from developing new blood vessels, and immunotherapy, which stimulates your own immune system to fight the cancer.
The type and order of cancer treatment varies with each type of cancer. Sometimes patients have chemotherapy first to shrink a tumor, then it is removed in surgery. Other people might have surgery first and then have chemotherapy to treat any remaining cancer cells. Discuss this with your physician to decide the best process for you.
For more detailed information about your specific type of cancer, please refer to your specific cancer listed above.
Defining the Goal of Treatment
As you look at all the treatment options with your oncologist and your family, you will need to determine what you can realistically expect from treatment. Talk with your doctor to better understand your type and stage of cancer as well as what your doctor feels is the best goal of treatment for you. A goal of treatment may be cure, slowing or controlling tumor growth, or extending your life while maintaining quality of life. Some cancer treatments are designed to control pain and other symptoms when a cure is not possible. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can have difficult side effects, so it's important for you to weigh the benefits and the challenges, and move forward accordingly. Please know that cancer treatments today have come along way from years ago. There are many medications that reduce side effects and make it possible for you to continue to work or keep up with your usual activities.
What are your goals in relation to cancer and its treatment?