Different Treatments

If someone you know is being treated for cancer, you may want to learn more about what theyre going through. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are the most common types of cancer treatment. Surgery is often the first treatment option if the tumor can be taken out of the body. Sometimes only part of the tumor can be removed. Radiation, chemotherapy, or both might be used to shrink the tumor before or after surgery. Doctors use chemotherapy to kill cancer cells. The term chemotherapy (often shortened to chemo) refers to the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Usually, the drugs are given intravenously (into a vein, IV) or taken by mouth. Chemo drugs then travel through the body in the bloodstream, reaching cancer cells that may have spread (metastasized) from the tumor to other places in the body. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays (such as x-rays) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. The radiation may come from outside the body (external radiation) or from radioactive materials put right into the tumor (internal or implant radiation). Getting external radiation is much like getting an x-ray. The radiation itself is painless, but tissue damage may cause side effects.

Cancer Type Estimated New Cases Estimated Deaths Bladder 74,690 15,580 Breast (Female Male) 232,670 2,360 40,000 430 Colon and Rectal (Combined) 136,830 50,310 Endometrial 52,630 8,590 Kidney (Renal Cell and Renal Pelvis) Cancer 63,920 13,860 Leukemia (All Types) 52,380 24,090 Lung (Including Bronchus) 224,210 159,260 Melanoma 76,100 9,710 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 70,800 18,990 Pancreatic 46,420 39,590 Prostate 233,000 29,480 Thyroid 62,980 1,890