There are many different kinds of treatment for cancer. Below you will find information and resources to support you, no matter which kind of treatment you are having. Because side effects are what cause people the most worry, we have many resources available to help you manage them. Have a look, and if you are not sure or have a concern you can’t find an answer for, talk with your health care team.
Systemic treatment is any medication that travels through your body in the bloodstream to find, damage or destroy cancer cells. It includes chemotherapy, checkpoint inhibitor, hormone therapy or targeted therapy.
Radiation treatment uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours. It treats many types of cancer as well as some conditions that are non-cancerous. It can be used alone or combined with other treatments such as surgery, or chemotherapy.
Surgery is a procedure used to examine, remove or repair of tissue in the body. In the case of cancer, it is used to take a sample (biopsy) to test or to remove some or all of the cancer cells or areas of the body the cancer has invaded. Surgical procedures can be short, day procedures while other surgeries can be more complex and require patients to stay in hospital longer.
A clinical trial is research that involves people. Trials are designed to test ways to prevent, detect or treat cancer or improve the quality of life of people with cancer and their loved ones.
Sometimes cancer, or treatment for cancer, can cause different symptoms or side effects. These often depend on the type of medication and treatment, along with your body’s own reaction to them. Examples of symptoms and side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue. There are lots of ways to manage side effects well.
Managing cancer sometimes involves getting blood products or different injections or procedures. Topics include things such as getting irradiated blood, giving yourself an injection or having a colposcopy.
A stem cell transplant is when you get high dose chemotherapy to destroy your cancer cells and your bone marrow. After your bone marrow is destroyed, you get new stem cells back. The purpose of the stem cell transplant is to cure or control your disease, or to put it into remission.
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Cancer
