Cancer treatments depend on the type of cancer as well as what stage it has reached. While some cancer patients receive only one treatment in the initial stages, most patients require a combination of treatments as recommended by a doctor or oncologist to completely eradicate cancer. Here are some of the most common cancer treatments employed by doctors:

1. Surgery
Surgery is a procedure where the surgeon operates the affected organ to remove a cancer tumor. Either an open surgery or minimally invasive surgery may be performed depending on the type and reach of cancer cells. Surrounding lymph nodes may also be removed.

2. Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is one of the most common cancer treatments prescribed. It is administered by using high doses of radiation. This radiation targets the cancer cells and shrinks the tumors. In most cases, it may be combined with another treatment to keep cancer from coming back.

3. Chemotherapy
In chemotherapy, drugs are used for killing off cancer cells. It typically needs to be combined with other treatments. Chemotherapy works by shrinking a tumor before it is operated. This is known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In adjuvant chemotherapy, cancer cells that remain after surgery are destroyed. It is also commonly used to kill cancer cells that return.

4. Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy is basically the very first stage of how precision medicine is developed. It is the kind of cancer treatment that targets the changes occurring in cancer cells so that they do not grow further, divide, or spread. The types of targeted therapy include monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule drugs.

5. Hormone therapy

Hormone therapy is a type of cancer treatment that aims at stopping or slowing down cancers that use hormones for their growth. It is also referred to as hormone treatment, endocrine therapy, and hormonal therapy. It is sometimes used for easing cancer symptoms in the body.

6. Stem cell transplant

Stem cell transplants are procedures that restore stem cells that form blood in cancer patients. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy destroy these cells if given in high doses. Hence, stem cell transplants help in restoring them.

7. Precision medicine

Precision medicine uses an approach wherein the patient is given select treatments based on the genetic nature of the disease. It lets the doctors decide specific treatments that are most likely going to help these patients depending on the genetic factors of cancer. While precision medicine as a field is not new, recent developments in technology are helping it to speed up.

8. Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy works by boosting your immune system to combat cancer. The common types of immunotherapy include the following:

• Adoptive cell transfer
• Monoclonal antibodies
• Treatment vaccines
• Cytokines
• Bacillus Calmette-Guerin
• Checkpoint inhibitors

It is always recommended to consult an oncologist to figure out which of these common cancer treatments are the most beneficial for the patient. With a proper course and stipulated duration, they can really help in improving a cancer patient’s prognosis.