Surgery

Surgery is the removal of cancerous tissue from the body by a surgeon. If a tumor has formed, doctors try to cut it out, sometimes including a margin of nearby healthy tissue to make sure all cancer cells are removed. Surgery is often used when cancer hasn’t spread (metastasized) and can sometimes cure the cancer. However, it may not be suitable when tumor is near vital organs or when cancer is spread through the body.   

​

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays (such as X-rays or gamma rays) to kill cancer cells or damage them so they cannot grow and divide. There are external types (from a machine outside the body) and internal types (radioactive material placed near or in the tumor). It’s often used after surgery to get rid of leftover cancer cells or to shrink tumors before surgery. Side effects occur because some healthy cells are damaged too.

​

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy (“chemo”) involves drugs that travel through the bloodstream and kill fast-dividing cells, including cancer cells. Because they affect all fast-growing cells, healthy cells like those in hair, skin, and the lining of the mouth can also be harmed, which leads to side effects (hair loss, nausea, fatigue). Chemo can be used alone or along with surgery or radiation.

​

Hormone Therapy

Some cancers require hormones (chemical messengers) to grow - for example, many breast or prostate cancers. Hormone therapy blocks those hormones or stops the body from making them, which slows or stops cancer growth. It is often used when cancer cells respond to those hormones.

​​

​

​

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer. It either boosts the immune system in general or helps the immune system better recognize cancer cells as threats and attack them. Some immunotherapies are newer and very promising for certain types of cancers. Side effects can be different depending on which immunotherapy is used.

​

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that specifically attack cancer cells based on abnormal proteins or genes those cells may have. Because it’s more precise, targeted therapy tends to do less damage to healthy cells compared to traditional chemotherapy. It’s effective especially when doctors know what “target” (e.g. a mutation or receptor) the cancer has.

​

Stem Cell (or Bone Marrow) Transplant

Some treatments like high-dose chemotherapy or radiation can destroy the stem cells in bone marrow that make blood cells. A stem cell transplant restores healthy stem cells (either from the patient ahead of treatment or from a donor) so the body can make normal blood cells again. This is often used in blood cancers (like leukemia) or when other treatments have severely hurt blood-forming tissues.

​

Clinical Trials & Combination Therapies

Often doctors use more than one of these treatments together (e.g. surgery + chemo + radiation) because combinations can be more effective. Also, clinical trials test new or improved treatments for safety and effectiveness before they become standard.

 

​​Cancer Treatment Comparison Table

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​​​​​​​

Additional Resources:

Cleveland Clinic

National Cancer Institute

American Cancer Society

Blood Cancer United (Adult)

Blood Cancer United (Young Adult)​​​​​