Cancer treatments and breakthroughs
Cancer treatments and breakthroughsCancer is not a single disease. It includes a large group of varied disorders that share major traits. The first sign of cancer is an enlargement of the area. The tumor then infects other cells near it, and if it's really advanced, these cells may break away from the tumor and spread the cancer throughout your body. Although many people believe that your survival rate is low if you're diagnosed with cancer, patients usually have high recovery rates. There are many different types of treatment that doctors can give to their patients. The three main types are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Surgery is quick, usually effective, and it accounts for the most cures. Many doctors must operate on their patients, but this treatment has several downsides. Just because a doctor has taken out the main tumor doesn't mean that the cancer cells are completely gone. They're too small to see, so doctors can't tell if they have taken it all out or not. So, just to be sure, doctors usually take out a lot of the healthy tissue surrounding the area. This could damage the person's system and their appearance. Also, cancer sometimes forms around structures that can't be taken out, like an organ. In these cases, surgery alone is basically useless. Radiation therapy is another option, and many doctors prefer this in many cases. When a patient receives radiation therapy, gamma rays are sent in to treat the region that the tumor is in. Patients usually receive five to eight weeks of treatments every day, but they don't have to stay in the hospital. Radiation works because when the high amount of rays treat the tumor, it will cause enough damage to the cells to kill them. Radiation does damage the healthy tissue, but they can recover easily. So, radiation therapy can kill the cancerous tissue, while the healthy tissue can still function. It can destroy microscopic tissue that surgery could miss, and it's safer for older patients that could have trouble recovering. Although radiation therapy sounds like a good idea, it has some negative points. It sometimes doesn't treat all of the cells that are damaged. Also, just like surgery, it is useless if the cancer has already spread because it would damage vital organs. Another major treatment is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy involves the mixing of drugs to give to a patient. These drugs prevent cells from multiplying by interfering with the process of copying DNA. The first chemotherapeutic drugs were developed during the 1940s, but they were given one by one, and weren't good forms of treatment. In the 1960s, doctors realized that if they would combine the drugs, they would have a better effect on the cancer. Now, chemotherapy can be effective, but doctors have to limit the doses that they give their patients. This is because the drugs ares so strong that the side effects could damage the healthy tissue. Some of these side effects are nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and hair loss....
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