Medical Advances in Cancer

Medical Advances in Cancer Treatment Research

This paper discusses the medical advances in cancer treatment research. The writer explores several treatment options and compares them to treatment options of the past. There were two sources used to complete this paper.

There was a time when a diagnosis of cancer meant a death sentence. The word still strikes a chord of fear among the millions each year who are told they have it, but in recent years there have been many advances in medical science that allow many who would have died from the disease to live long and full lives. There are more cancer survivors now than ever before and treatment options continue to be made available.

In the past there were only two options for the treatment of cancer. One could have surgery and one could be given a course of radiation treatments. The surgery was for the purpose of removing the tumor. That treatment option is still being used today to cut the tumor out of the body. The changes in treatment following surgery however have changed dramatically. Today patients are given a variety of options and given much more detailed explanations as to how those treatment options will work for them. In the past it was assumed that all cancer was to be treated in the same manner. Today the medical community knows that different types of cancer respond to different types of treatment.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. The treatment for leukemia used to consist of chemotherapy, however in the early phases of the chemo discovery it was a harsh treatment that carried with it some very difficult side affects. Chemotherapy treatment for leukemia has been fine tuned in recent history to include fewer side affects and to target the cancer cells directly. The survival rate of leukemia patients has risen from about 15% to 85%.

Lung cancer has always been a killer cancer. There was a time when the only options were surgery and then a round of radiation. Today, the surgery and radiation are still used however there are also drugs and chemotherapy treatments that are attempted. Lung cancer comes in several forms and the current methods of treatment are highly dependent on the type and stage of cancer the patient has.

Breast cancer used to involve complete mastectomies. Today the cancer can be handled in many cases with a lumpectomy in which they only remove the tumor and some surrounding tissues. Chemo and cancer drugs are also viable options for treatment.

The treatment of cancer has advanced as medical science has advanced. Historically cancer has been a death sentence but with new options for treatment the cure rate in many cancers has increased. As the future continues to explore options cancer will continues to shrink as a killer disease.