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Cancer Treatment Options
It’s important to note that a cancer diagnosis isn’t the full story. Far from it. This next chapter of life will come with its challenges, but also carries with it the hope of recovery. Something else you should know? The treatment options and resources that are available to you. Knowledge is indeed power. Use it to your advantage and let’s beat this thing together.
Screening for Cancer
Screening for cancer is one of the very first steps toward recovery. It allows us to get a good look at what’s going on and how we can go about treatment. Maybe you’ve been recently screened and received a cancer diagnosis. Perhaps you came out clear but still have questions. We’re here to provide answers no matter where you are on your journey.
RMC has some of the most advanced cancer diagnostic technology in our area. We have a plethora of technologies at our disposal, including MRI, CT scanners, PET/CT scanners, nuclear scanners, 3-D mammography, and ultrasound.
For years, we have been on the cutting edge in diagnostic tools. In early 2004, RMC became only the third hospital nationwide to purchase and install the Varian Acuity Simulator®. Using virtual simulation, this powerful, digital machine detects cancerous cells. It serves as one of the most sophisticated and safest means to place and verify radiation treatments. The machine works at detecting all forms of cancer and informs treatment plans to be as precise as possible, helping cancer cure rates increase.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is life-changing. Inevitably, questions and concerns come along with it. Oftentimes, we wonder about next steps or even what’s next. RMC is here to provide options and resources to you. It starts with our cancer care program, which offers top-quality cancer treatment close to home.
Our Cancer Care Program
RMC offers a different perspective to oncology. That’s seen in our cancer care program, which offers state-of-the-art cancer treatment and comprehensive support.
Our program leadership is made up of board-certified medical and radiation oncologists, both local to the area and UAB-affiliated. We have surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists on staff. Treatment plans are accurately assessed and customized to individual needs.
In RMC’s cancer care program, treatment is only part of the picture. We’re also here to walk with you and provide much-needed support. We keep you updated on what’s latest in ongoing clinical trials and treatment options. We offer 24/7 access to information, education, and support that pertains to your diagnosis. We continue to monitor you as treatment is ongoing, during your recovery, and well after. Every aspect of our care centers around the most important piece: you.
Treatment Option: Biopsy and Cancer Surgery
Some people cringe at the thought of surgery. And while any surgery has its risks, it can be an effective treatment option for cancer and cancer-related complications.
Surgery is an option to diagnose, treat, and even prevent cancer. When diagnosing cancer, a doctor will typically perform a biopsy. A biopsy is when a physician extracts a sample of tissue from the suspicious area to determine if it’s cancerous (malignant) or not (benign). Many biopsies can be performed on an outpatient basis. When surgery is used for treatment, the cancer and some of the adjacent tissue may be removed. Surgery can also be helpful in collecting information to predict whether or not the cancer will return.
Department Spotlight: RMC Radiation Oncology
RMC’s radiation oncologists have access to the latest radiation technology. Our team uses radiation beams to target, damage, and eradicate cancer cells. Like surgery, radiation therapy is a localized treatment used to eliminate cancerous tissue. Radiation can either be externally or internally delivered. It may be used as a standalone treatment, or it may be part of a more comprehensive treatment plan, which can involve chemotherapy and surgery. Technology we currently have available includes:
- 3-D Radiotherapy. Uses 3-dimensional treatment planning to deliver conformal precise treatment.
- Electron Therapy. Excels at treating superficial cancers such as skin cancer, keloids, and other cancers that are not deep under the skin.
- IMRT. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy
- IGRT. Image Guided Radiation Therapy
- SRS. Stereotactic Radiosurgery – Intracranial
- SBRT. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy – Extracranial
- Radiopharmaceuticals
Specialized Treatments
Some cancers have complications or expressions that make traditional treatment approaches ineffective. However, there are options that can be looked at in these cases.
Xofigo® (radium Ra 223 dichloride)
This injection is used to treat prostate cancer that is resistant to medical or surgical treatments that lower testosterone and has spread to bones with symptoms, but not to other parts of the body. The medical term for this condition is metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, or mCRPC.
ZEVALIN® (ibritumomab tiuxetan)
Therapeutic regimen is used to treat patients with:
- Low-grade or follicular B-cell NHL that has relapsed during or after treatment with other anticancer drugs.
- Newly diagnosed follicular NHL following a response to initial anticancer therapy.
Source: http://www.cancer.gov/publishedcontent/syndication/14298.htm
Outpatient Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (or chemo) involves the use of medicine to treat cancer. Many patients diagnosed with cancer receive chemotherapy. The thought of having chemotherapy may be scary, but for millions of people, this approach is effective and gets them back to enjoying full, productive lives. Many side effects once associated with chemotherapy can now be prevented and/or controlled, allowing people to go on with their normal activities during treatment. Chemotherapy may be administered intravenously, injected into a body cavity, or ingested through a pill.
Hormone or Endocrine Therapy
Hormone therapy is a cancer treatment that slows or stops the growth of cancer that uses hormones to grow. Hormone therapy is also called hormonal therapy, hormone treatment, or endocrine therapy. Hormone therapy falls into two broad groups—those that block the body’s ability to produce hormones and those that interfere with how hormones behave in the body. The two most common uses for hormonal therapy are for breast and prostate cancers.
Source: http://www.cancer.gov/publishedcontent/syndication/283901.html
Treatment Spotlight: Immunotherapy
The immune system’s natural capacity to detect and destroy abnormal cells may prevent the development of many cancers. However, cancer cells are sometimes able to avoid detection and destruction by the immune system.
Cancer cells may:
- reduce the expression of tumor antigens on their surface, making it harder for the immune system to detect them;
- express proteins on their surface that induce immune cell inactivation;
- induce cells in the surrounding environment (microenvironment) to release substances that suppress immune responses and promote tumor cell proliferation and survival.
In the past few years, the rapidly advancing field of cancer immunology has produced several new methods for treating cancer, called immunotherapies, that increase the strength of immune responses against tumors. Immunotherapies either stimulate the activities of specific components of the immune system or counteract signals produced by cancer cells that suppress immune responses. These advances in cancer immunotherapy are the result of long-term investments in basic research on the immune system—research that continues today.
Treatment Spotlight: Targeted Therapy & Precision Medicine
Precision medicine refers to the use of information about the genes, proteins, and other features of a person’s cancer to diagnose or treat their disease. Targeted therapy is the foundation of precision medicine. It is a type of cancer treatment that targets the changes in cancer cells that help them grow, divide, and spread. As researchers learn more about the cell changes that drive cancer, they are better able to design promising therapies that target these changes or block their effects. Targeted therapies are designed to only treat the cancer cells, therefore minimizing damage to normal, healthy cells. In order to become cancer cells, healthy cells must go through a process called carcinogenesis. Targeted therapy disrupts this process and the cellular changes necessary for development and growth. This up-and-coming cancer treatment has room for opportunity, especially in the years ahead.
Know Your Options
Cancer isn’t the final line in your story. RMC is here to work with you, and hopefully rewrite this unfolding chapter of your life. This is the start of an ongoing conversation. Let’s start discussing options today.