Cancer is a term that describes a condition when cells grow and divide uncontrollably, changing the process of cell division significantly. Certain types of cancer cause the cells to grow rapidly, while others might cause slower growth and division of cells. The visible growth in the cells is referred to as a tumor, while in other cases, it is called leukemia.

Let’s understand the main treatments for cancer:

• Chemotherapy
  This process involves the patient being given strong medicine, which does not let the cancer grow exponentially. In some cases, on the basis of the stage of cancer, it can also kill the cancer cells. More often than not, there are several side-effects of chemotherapy. The areas that are commonly affected by the side effects are the mouth, hair follicles, and the digestive system. Currently, more than 100 different types of chemotherapy medications are known. Due to the effectiveness of this treatment for cancer, it is one of the most popular and among the main types.
• Radiation therapy
  High-powered beams, including protons and X-rays, are used to kill the cancer cells in this treatment method. The doctor can choose to conduct the radiation treatment from outside the body, referred to as external beam radiation, or as brachytherapy, which is from inside the body.
• Surgery
  Surgery is performed to remove the cancerous tumor. The affected lymph nodes and other tissues may also be taken out for testing. This is also referred to as open surgery. The other type of surgery is minimally invasive surgery. In this type, the surgeon makes small cuts and inserts a tube with a tiny camera into the patient’s body to identify the cancerous cells. This is one of the main treatments for cancer in the advanced stages of the disease.
• Bone marrow transplant
  Blood cells and stem cells are produced by the bone marrow. In this treatment, the doctor may implant the patient with the bone marrow of a donor. This transplant is also known as a stem cell transplant. Due to this transplant, higher doses of chemotherapy can be used to kill the cancerous cells.
• Immunotherapy
  This is also known as biological therapy, and the body’s immune system is used to fight cancer under this method. The immune system can often fight the cancerous cells, but the immune system does not identify them as intruders. With immunotherapy, the immune system is made to see the cancer cells as external bodies, and the treatment encourages them to fight the disease.

Several other therapies and treatment types are used, and the science of cancer treatment is regularly evolving. More and more things are being understood about the disease, and other methods are also being researched to help fight the illness.