Even though chemotherapy is most often associated with drugs used in cancer treatment, “chemo” is actually characterized as the use of any drug to treat almost any disease. Chemotherapy works to kill cancer cells throughout the entire body when cancer has metastasized (or spread) from the original tumor to other parts of the body. Chemo is often used in collaboration with radiation, which eradicates cancer cells in a particular area, and surgery. The primary goal of chemotherapy treatment is to cure, control, and lessen the disease and symptoms (known as palliative care). Before a patient undergoes chemotherapy, doctors will decide on a treatment plan based on the following: Chemotherapy drugs To determine the drug to use for treatment (chemo), doctors will consider your type of cancer, stage of cancer, as well as patient age, and overall health (i.e., other existing health conditions, like kidney disease). They’ll also consider whether or not you’ve had chemo before in the past. Chemotherapy scheduling Chemotherapy is given by dose per cycle (i.e., several days) followed by several days or weeks with no treatment to allow healthy cells adequate recovery time from side effects. Your doctor will schedule your chemo based on the number of cycles needed, based on the type and stage of cancer you have.

Immunotherapy, or biologic therapy, utilizes substances, either made in a lab or naturally made by the body, to boost the body’s natural defences and fight cancer. Immunotherapy is meant to optimize immune system function so that the body is strong enough to do the following: Strengthen the immune system enough to eradicate existing cancer cells.Cease or stall cancer cell growth altogether. Prevent cancer from spreading to other areas of the body. Immunotherapy comes in four distinctly different types: Non-specific immunotherapies Non-specific immunotherapies-—such as interleukins and interferons—encourage the immune system kill cancer cells in collaboration with other cancer treatments (i.e., radiation, chemo) or on their own. Interleukins are typically used for melanoma (skin cancer) and kidney cancer. While interferons are the more common type to treat all other cancers. T-cell therapy T-cells exist in our immune system cells to fight infection. However, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy removes T-cells are from a cancer patient’s blood, alters them in a lab so they contain specific proteins known as receptors so they can seek out and kill cancer cells. The changed T cells are grown in large numbers in the laboratory and returned to the patient’s body. Once there, they seek out and destroy cancer cells.

Radiation therapy employs high doses of radiation therapy to kill cancer cells. The primary aim of radiation is to eradicate as many tumor cells as necessary without causing harm to healthy cells. However, adverse side effects can occur due to the fact that radiation therapy can harm healthy cells and tissues in the areas nearby the tumor site. Although modern radiation technology is very precise, side effects still typically occur within the first few weeks or month of treatment, lasting several weeks following treatment. As with any disease-fighting treatment or cancer therapy, side effects differ in patients depending on health, age, type of radiation, type of cancer, and how much radiation is given. While there are no absolutes when it comes to how you will react to radiation therapy, these are the most common side effects of treatment: Fatigue Fatigue is perhaps the most common side effect of radiation therapy. Learning to cope with fatigue is important during cancer treatment, and a combination of cancer treatments (i.e., radiation and chemotherapy) can leave patients extremely tired and exhausted. Skin issues Radiation patients often report skin issues such as peeling or blistering skin, as well as dryness, flaky skin, and itchiness in the area receiving radiation therapy.

Cancer surgery can be used to prevent, diagnose, and remove cancer from the body. In cases where a cancerous tumor exists and the surgeon can’t remove it all, surgery will be utilized to remove as much of the tumor as is safe, but additional cancer treatments (i.e, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation) may be recommended to kill the remaining cancerous cells and tissues. Here are the three primary ways surgery is used in cancer treatment: Preventative cancer surgery A surgical operation may be used as a preventative measure, for instance, to lower the risk of developing certain types of cancer (i.e., inherited breast cancer gene BRCA1 or BRCA2) by removing removes tissue that have a high risk of becoming cancerous. Certain inherited condition are considered to carry a higher risk of cancer development that warrants preventive surgery, or removal of an organ (i.e., the colon and rectum in instances where familial adenomatous polyposis exists) or a wide area of tissue (i.e., the breasts) to help lower your risk of developing that cancer to prevent cancer development in the patient’s future. Surgery to diagnose cancer In instances where your doctor suspects cancer may be present, he or she may opt to remove all or part of a tumor to diagnose for cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign) tissues and cells.

Lymphoma is classified as cancer that develops within the lymphatic system, or the body’s germ defense system, which is made up of the spleen, bone marrow, and lymph nodes (and glands). Lymphomas occur in two main types—Hodgkin’s lymphoma (also known as Hodgkin’s disease), and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Oncologists and doctors recommend lymphoma course of treatment that aims to destroy all traces of cancerous cells (if possible) while easing cancer symptoms and improving patient life quality with treatments leading to prolonged remission (or living cancer free). Treatments are typically based on several different factors, including: Lymphoma type Cancer stage or progression rate Patient health, age, and preferences Most cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (roughly 80%) respond well when the cancer is localized to a specific area of the body, and when treated with a combination of the following: 1. Watch and wait In cases of slow progressing non-Hodgkin lymphomas, doctors may opt to wait and surveil the cancer with periodic testing and monitoring. A course of treatment will be decided once symptoms begin to interfere with quality of life. 2. Radiation therapy Radiotherapy is a treatment that direct high-powered energy rays (or protons) directly at cancerous cells to kill them. 3. Chemotherapy Chemotherapy employs powerful drugs, either intravenously or orally, to destroy cancerous cells.