What are the different types of cancer treatment?
The types of treatment used most often to treat cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation . Doctors use these treatments to destroy cancer cells. Depending on the type of cancer, children may have one kind of treatment or a combination of treatments. Most children receive a combination of treatments, called combination therapy. Treatments for cancer often cause unwanted or unpleasant side effects such as nausea, hair loss, and diarrhea. Side effects occur because cancer treatment that kills cancer cells can hurt some normal cells, too. As your child begins treatment, you may want to keep the following in mind. • The kinds of side effects and how bad they will be depend on the kind of drug, the dosage, and the way your child’s body reacts. • The doctor plans treatment so that your child has as few side effects as possible. • The doctor and treatment team have ways to lessen your child’s side effects.
