Cancer Treatments

The number of cancer treatments is growing, but not all of them work as well as the next. People with lung cancer have several options.

Small bowel cancer, also called cancer of the small intestine features characteristics of uncontrolled growth of cells lining the small intestine. As per the statistics of Cancer.Net, nearly 6500...

There are several treatments for prostate cancer, and patients are always looking for the safest and most effective. High-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy is a form of treatment that doctors may...

According to information from Medline Plus, men past age 60 are at higher risk for prostate cancer. The development of prostate cancer can be slowed through the use of androgen deprivation hormone...

Cancer treatments target and attempt to eradicate fast growing cancer cells. Unfortunately, hair loss occurs because these treatments can't differentiate between cancer cells and fast growing,...

The American Cancer Society predicts that 22,620 new cases of liver cancer will be reported in the United States in 2009. The scary part about liver cancer is that it often has no symptoms until...

According to the Mayo Clinic website, cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder. The inflammation is caused by a bacterial infection known as a urinary tract infection (UTI). Cystitis can be...

Cancer refers to a broad range of diseases which share in their basic salient characteristic---the development of mutant cells within the body that will cause the death of the patient if left...

Most skin problems incurred during radiation treatments for breast cancer will go away a few weeks after treatment has ended. During treatment, however, the skin can experience discomfort and...

Radiation therapy uses high doses of radiation by aiming high energy X-rays or particles aimed at the precise location of your cancer site. Cancer cells are then exterminated. The intent of...

Cancer comes in many forms, and the race to find the cure is a constant challenge to doctors and scientists. With nearly 1.5 million new cases of cancer expected to be diagnosed in 2009, according...

The treatment for cancer can be the most worrisome part the cancer diagnosis. While chemotherapy and radiation kill cancer cells and stop growth of the disease, they also kill good cells in the...

According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women, accounting for to close 192,000 new cases annually. This cancer rarely develops in men,...

CyberKnife surgery was invented by Dr. John Adler, M.D., of Stanford University Medical Center. This new stereotactic radiation technology is now being used by hospitals around the world to treat...

Broadly defined, cancer is the accelerated growth of abnormal cells that can take over other cells or, frequently, develop into tumors. Some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation is...

Both chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used to treat many kinds of cancer. Doctors may use the treatments alone or in combination. Both chemotherapy and radiation carry side effects.

Although there are three general types of accepted cancer treatments--surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy--there are many subcategories within each type that may be better suited to...

Cancer treatments are counterintuitive, in that before you can feel better, you must first feel worse. Although science has taken great steps to alleviate or minimize many of the side effects...

Radiation therapy is one of the principal treatment methods for dealing with cancer, but there are many variants on the basic theme. Radiation therapy is generally divided into two types --...

Breast cancer patients may undergo radiation therapy after a lumpectomy or mastectomy. Radiation therapy helps eliminate cancer cells that remain in the breast after the initial lump is removed....

According to the National Cancer Institute, around half of all people diagnosed with cancer receive radiation therapy. Though side effects of radiation vary depending on the location of the...

Cancer is an unfortunate disease in which cells become mutated and begin to destroy the body's organs. Although cancer remains a top killer, technological advances in medicine have extended the...

Therapy for cancer patients remains a thriving field in medical research. Doctors generally recommend surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy for most patients, and these therapies are...

Radiation therapy is used to treat cancer either alone or along with other treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy. The radiation works to shrink or kill the tumors all together. While the...

Cancer patients often receive radiation and chemo in combination. Both can cause heart complications, including weakness of the heart muscle, or cardiomyopathy, and heart attack.

Radiation is one of many procedures used in the treatment of cancer. It can be used individually or in combination to other treatments. It is administered externally or internally. There are...

Treatment depends on the type and stage of your cancer. Most patients, at some point, will undergo orthodox cancer treatments, which doctors recommend in separation or in combination with other...

Cancer has been a widespread illness since ancient times, but only recently have doctors begun to understand the disease more thoroughly to develop a wide range of therapies, including surgery,...

The esophagus is a hollow tube that brings food from the mouth to the stomach. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 17,000 people are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year. In...

Radiation treatment uses beams of ionizing radiation to fight cancer. These beams are painless, but when they hit a cancer cell, they damage its DNA, which prevents the cell from growing and...

Radiation treatment uses high-energy beams to fight cancer cells. These beams damage the genetic material in cancer cells, which stops their growth and division. The effects of radiation treatment...

Radiation treatment destroys cancer cells with beams of ionized energy. After treatment begins, the first effects can appear within days, and they can persist for weeks after treatment ends. Each...

Radiation treatment uses high-energy rays to fight cancer cells. Specifically, the radiation damages the cancer cells' DNA, which prevents them from growing and dividing. Healthy cells nearby,...

Long-term side effects of radiation treatments are uncommon. However, they can appear as early as six months after treatment ends, and patients will require routine checkups for the rest of their...

Gamma radiation treatment uses high energy gamma rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. According to the National Cancer Institute, half of the patients being treated for cancer will receive...

Cancer is a condition characterized by the uncontrolled division of the cells in the body, thus resulting in their abnormal functioning. Cancers are often named after their region of development,...

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy both have variable side effects and potential risks. Dangers associated with chemotherapy are largely dependent on the type of medication used, while the risks...

Radiation therapy damages healthy cells in addition to cancerous cells. Side effects vary in children, also being affected by the dose, location it was received and whether it was internal or...

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are prescribed to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy treats cancer with drugs, and radiation therapy treats cancer with high-energy rays.

Radiation therapy fights cancer with waves of ionized energy. These waves damage the DNA in cancer cells, which prevents them from growing and dividing. Radiation therapy has proven effective time...

The National Cancer Institute estimates that in the United States, there will be 21,550 new diagnoses of ovarian cancer in 2009. Types of ovarian cancer include epithelial ovarian cancer, in which...

Radiation treatment involves the use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and to decrease tumor size. The energy resulting from the radiation damages the genetic makeup of the cancer cells,...

When treating cancer, the earlier a patient begins treatment, the better her prognosis is for recovery. Doctors have a variety of treatment options. A doctor bases the choice on what will be most...

Cancer patient treatment remains a hot field in medical research, and the survival rates for many cancers are improving. As a cancer patient, you can choose from a variety of treatments, but...

Although great strides have been made in cancer treatments during the past few decades, long-term effects from these treatments do remain, although they are less severe than in the past. With the...

Two well-known treatments, chemotherapy (or chemo) and radiation therapy, regularly aid people in their battle against cancer. Though they share some similarities, they are quite different. Both...

Various forms of cancer have been described throughout history. Up until the 19th century, attempts at treating cancer were largely unsuccessful. Then rapid advances in medicine led to the...

According to Mayo Clinic statistics, cancer is the second leading cause of death. Cure rates and treatment options vary depending on where the cancer began, if it has spread to other parts of the...

Lymphoma cancer is classified as either Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In both cases, the cancer begins in the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. Lymph cells...

Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy used to treat cancer. Unlike external beam radiation, which uses a machine to aim high energy rays at the cancer from outside the body, brachytherapy...