Understanding Cancer Treatment Options: Your Path to Recovery

Cancer treatment utilises various means, including radiation, surgery, and other therapies, to shrink or eliminate the cancer-causing cells, thereby halting the progression of the disease. The treatment for cancer varies depending on the type of cancer, and the medical professional who specialises in treating cancer is called an Oncologist in Mumbai.

What is the Goal of Cancer Treatment?

The goal of cancer treatment in Mumbai is to cure the cancer, thus allowing the patient to live a normal life. However, the results depend on the type of cancer. If the cancer is not curable, the doctors will try to shrink or slow down the growth of cancer to reduce the symptoms. The treatment for cancer can be divided into three categories:

• Primary Treatments - The goal of primary treatment is to destroy the cancer cells in the body. The treatment kills the cancerous cells through various procedures. However, surgery is one of the most commonly used primary treatment options, especially if a person is highly sensitive to radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
• Adjuvant Treatments - If there are any cancer cells left even after primary treatments, doctors use adjuvant treatments. Adjuvant treatment includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. This is usually done to enhance the efficiency of the primary treatment.
• Palliative Treatments - Palliative treatment is done to reduce the signs and symptoms of the cancer cells or minimise the side effects of primary or adjuvant treatment. The doctor might use palliative treatment in conjunction with other treatments to cure the cancer.

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What are the Cancer Treatment Options at Hinduja Hospital?

There are many drugs and treatment options for cancer in Mumbai . Below are the treatments that are used at Hinduja Hospital to treat cancer:

Surgery

Cancer Surgery is done to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancerous cells. The doctors physically remove the cancer surgically by cutting into the area of cancer. Depending on the location of the cancer, the doctor will decide if the surgery will be minimally invasive or open. One of the most popular surgical methods includes cryosurgery, which involves destroying cancerous cells using extremely cold temperatures.

The goal of cancer surgical treatment is to partially or totally get rid of the cancer cells. It is different from other treatments that are often combined with other therapies to reduce the side effects or complications of the surgery.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is used to treat many types of cancer. The treatment makes use of chemo drugs to kill the growing cells. Chemotherapy helps in several ways:

• It may help treat cancer.
• It may prevent cancer cells from growing back.
• It also stops the cancer cells from spreading and delays their growth.
• It shrinks large tumours and helps relieve pain and other complications of cancer.

To treat cancer, chemotherapy can be given via IV, injection, or in the form of pills. It is usually administered alone or along with other medications. However, as chemotherapy involves destroying the cancer cells, it might also harm other healthy cells.

Interventional Oncology

Interventional oncology takes a less invasive approach toward cancer treatment, focusing on precision rather than surgery, chemotherapy, etc. The goal of interventional treatment is to treat cancer using minimally invasive techniques, causing little to no side effects and thus effectively treating cancer without damaging healthy cells.

Precision Medicines

Precision medicine, also known as precision oncology, uses medicines and therapies based on tumour markers and genetic tests that determine the behaviour of the patient's cancer cells' genes. Every tumour has a unique set of mutations and proteins, and precision medicines allow doctors to analyse the tumour and create a treatment plan based on the findings. Precision medicines use targeted drugs, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy to slow down the growth of cancer cells.

Targeted Therapies - The therapies and medicines used in precision medicine are known as targeted therapies. They focus on the specific abnormalities within the cancer cells and prevent them from multiplying.

Immunotherapy - Also known as biological therapy, immunotherapy utilises the body's immune system to fight against cancer. Cancer cells persist and grow inside the body because the immune system does not recognize them as threats or intruders. This treatment triggers the immune system, enabling it to identify the anomalies and combat them. Additionally, it is often used in conjunction with other treatments.

Hormone Therapy - Cancers like breast and prostate cancer are fueled by hormones. Thus, in hormone therapy, the doctor removes the hormone or restricts its effects to halt the growth of cancer.

Radiation Therapy? - Oncologists use radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells using high doses of energy rays. It is mostly used alone or with other therapies and is considered very effective as it shrinks the size of the tumour and helps reduce the symptoms associated with advanced cancer.

Radiation therapy is used in three ways:

• Systemic Radiation: It delivers radioactive drugs either via injection or orally.
• External Beam Radiation: External beam delivers high-energy X-ray or electron beams directly to destroy the tumour. It does not cause damage to the surrounding areas. This is mostly used on patients with metastasized cancer.
• Internal Beam Radiation: Also known as brachytherapy, internal beam radiation is given inside the patient and close to the cancer. This treatment involves a higher dose of radiation over a shorter period. Like external beam radiation, the rays are focused on the tumour, and the surrounding cells remain unharmed.

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