Overview
Cancers are usually treated with surgery, radiation therapy (radiotherapy), and drug therapies such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. These treatments may be used on their own, in combination (for example, you may have chemotherapy together with radiation therapy) or one after the other (for example, chemotherapy first, then surgery).
Remember, you’re not facing this alone. Find helpful information below, or call 13 11 20 to talk it through with our Cancer Connect qualified professionals.
Your treatment plan
Because each cancer is unique, your treatment plan may be different from other people’s, even when the cancer type is the same. You may need only one treatment or a combination of treatments. What treatment your doctor recommends will depend on:
- the type of cancer you have
- where the cancer began (the primary site)
- the size of the cancer and how far it has grown (the stage)
- whether the cancer has spread to other parts of your body (metastatic or secondary cancer)
- specific features of the cancer cell
- your general health, age and treatment preferences
- what treatments are currently available and whether there are any clinical trials suitable for you.
Cancer treatment is constantly changing and improving. New treatments may become available in the near future. Call Cancer Council 13 11 20 for our free booklets and information about different cancer types and their treatments.
Types of cancer treatments
Surgery
Surgery refers to an operation to remove cancer and/or repair a part of the body affected by cancer.
Drug therapies
Drugs can travel throughout the body. This is called systemic treatment. Drug therapies include:
- chemotherapy – drugs that kill cancer cells or slow their growth
- hormone therapy – drugs that block the effect of the body’s natural hormones on some types of cancer
- immunotherapy – drugs that use the body’s immune system to fight cancer
- targeted therapy – drugs that target specific features of cancer cells to stop the cancer from growing or spreading.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is the use of a controlled dose of radiation to kill or damage cancer cells so they cannot grow, multiply or spread. Treatment aims to affect only the part of the body where radiation is targeted.
Other treatments
These are treatments that may be used for some types of cancers:
- chemoradiation – also called chemoradiotherapy, is when chemotherapy is combined with radiation therapy to make the cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy; used for some types of cancers, including brain, bowel, cervical and oesophageal cancers
- stem cell transplant – blood cells that have been destroyed by high-dose chemotherapy are replaced by healthy stem cells; used to treat some types of blood cancer.
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