Nobody likes to think about cancer, but it’s an unfortunate reality that many of us will have to deal with, whether we develop cancer ourselves or are supporting a loved one who has cancer. There is no cure for cancer, and there probably never will be, due to the complexity and multifaceted nature of this disease. 

However, our best medical professionals have access to a wide range of different cancer treatments, which can often eliminate cancer, prevent it from recurring, and ultimately lead people to better health.

What types of cancer treatment are most effective?

Every Case Is Different

First, we need to establish that every case is different. There’s no such thing as a universally effective cancer treatment, and for three main reasons:

•       Type of cancer. There are many, many different types of cancer, both in terms of how the disease develops and where it affects the body. Mesothelioma in the lungs or abdomen, for example, requires a different approach than brain cancer or colon cancer. This is also a notoriously difficult cancer to treat, and treatment typically focuses on palliative care. Breast cancer, in contrast, can sometimes be treated with straightforward surgery.
•       Stage of development. Treatment also depends on the stage of the cancerous development. If the disease is caught early enough, oncologists have a wide variety of treatment methods that are available, and eliminating the cancer is relatively easy. If the cancer grows, or if it spreads to other areas of the body, treatment becomes more difficult. This is one reason why it’s important to get preventative screenings early and often.
•       Individual risks. Nearly every type of cancer treatment has some kind of side effect. Different people respond to these side effects with different levels of tolerance. People who are older, people suffering from other health complications, or people with specific risk factors may be poor candidates for certain types of treatment.

Types Of Cancer Treatment

Generally, cancer treatment is applied in one of three different ways:

•       Primary. Primary cancer treatment is designed to treat the cancer directly, ultimately killing the cancer cells or removing the cancer from your body. In any case, the goal is to get rid of the cancer so you can return to full health. Surgery is the most common type of primary treatment, though radiation therapy and chemotherapy can also be used in some cases.
•       Adjuvant. Adjuvant cancer treatment is usually treated as a form of supplementary cancer treatment, designed to kill any remaining cancer cells after the primary treatment is complete. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy are common examples of adjuvant treatment.
•       Palliative. If primary and adjuvant treatment aren’t possible, doctors may focus on palliative treatments, which are designed to minimize the uncomfortable and painful symptoms associated with cancer, rather than treating the cancer. Palliative treatments may also be available to use in combination with primary or adjuvant treatments.

In pursuit of these goals, the following treatment methods are frequently applied (often in conjunction with each other):

•       Surgery. Surgical procedures are designed to remove the cancerous cells from your body. This is usually a straightforward procedure, but it isn’t available in cases where the risk of surgery is higher than the potential reward.
•       Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy utilizes strong drugs to kill cancer cells, but these drugs can also kill healthy cells, so it’s not always well tolerated. Chemotherapy also comes with a host of side effects in many people.
•       Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams to kill cancerous cells. It’s available in the form of external beam radiation as well as internal therapy, known as brachytherapy.
•       Immunotherapy. Biological therapy, more commonly known as immunotherapy, is a set of treatment methods designed to enable your body’s natural immune system to fight cancer.
•       Stem cell and bone marrow transplants. Bone marrow is capable of producing new blood cells from blood stem cells. Bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants can replace diseased tissues in your body or enable higher doses of chemotherapy.
•       Hormone therapy. Hormones can exacerbate certain types of cancer, so removing or blocking the effects of those hormones can sometimes be an effective treatment.
•       Targeted drug therapy. Targeted drug therapy uses novel drugs to render cancer cells unable to survive.

New Treatment Methods

It’s worth mentioning that new cancer treatment methods are constantly being developed and tested. New treatments carry unknown risks, but also unknown possibilities. If you don’t qualify for existing mainstream cancer treatments, you may be willing to volunteer for a clinical trial.

We may never be able to eradicate cancer completely, but we’re constantly getting better at recognizing it and treating it. We already have a host of different primary, adjuvant, and palliative treatment methods available to us, and we’re only going to develop more in the future.