There are three main treatment approaches for cancer.

ChemoTherapy-edited

1) Surgical Oncology (Treatment with surgery)

2) Radiation Oncology (Radiation therapy)

3) Medical Oncology (Treatment with medication)

Two of theese treatment methods are local but third one is systemic treatment. At least one of these models is used in every cancer patient and also treatments are often combined with 2 or 3 of them.

The value of surgery has decreased over the years with the development of device technology and the use of IMRT IGRT techniques in treatment. Organ-sparing surgery came front.

For example, in early stage breast cancer, instead of mastectomy (removal of the breast completely), only the tumor area is removed and local control with radiotherapy has become the standard treatment.

 

A recent development in this regard has been to remove only a part of the axillary lymph nodes, even if there are small involvements in the sentinal (guard) lymph nodes. Thus, in addition to the external appearance provided by protecting the organ in breast cancer, side effects such as arm swelling and limitation of movement have also disappeared.

In prostate cancer, which is one of the most common types of cancer, radiotherapy has taken the place of surgery to a great extent. With the developing technology, the application of high radiation dose by focusing only on the cancerous tissue without damaging the surrounding tissues provides the same success without side effects as surgery that cause permanent side effects.

ilacApproaches that provide more effect and less side effects are developing rapidly in medical oncology as a systemic treatment method. In this context, the role of chemotherapy in treatment, which has side effects such as hair loss, nausea, fatigue, is also decreasing, and it is replaced by personalized, targeted treatments. Determination of targets by making genetic maps of tumors and antibodies called “smart molecules” that can lock on these targets can give chemotherapy within the cancer cell. These drugs, which are easier to use (orally), more effective and have fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy, are useful not only in a disease group but also in other types of cancer that carry the same receptor. Therefore, patient-specific treatments are applied, not disease-specific, and breast, lung, colon, and stomach cancers can also be treated with the same drug. These small molecules show benefits even in kidney and liver cancers where chemotherapy is ineffective; It can increase the life expectancy, which does not exceed one year, to 45 times in disseminated kidney cancer.

Treatments based on strengthening the immune system are also used in skin (melanoma), colon and lung cancers. Thus, it is observed that cancer can be kept under control without chemotherapy. Another cancer-fighting method is drugs that prevent cancer from forming blood vessels. (angiogenesis inhibitors) It has been proven to be effective in addition to chemotherapy in some types of cancer, especially ovarian cancer. Being able to prevent the tumor from spreading (metastasis) by forming its own capillaries into the blood circulation can also prevent the progression of the disease, or at least slow it down. In addition to gene therapies, studies of researching the main gene that genetically triggers cancer, research on more than 10 "Cancer vaccines" continues at full speed. It is expected that some of these vaccine studies, which will be used to prevent the recurrence of cancer in the early period, will be concluded within 67 years and will be put into clinical use. As can be seen, while the incidence of cancer is increasing, the power and variety of weapons used in the fight against cancer is also increasing. Therefore, we hope that medicine will emerge victorious from this war in the near future.

indirIn the meantime, although there are so many powerful weapons, it should be emphasized that substances have not been scientifically proven to be useful, have not gained drug status, should not be respected. Assuming that they are an alternative to science, some herbs, extracts, and mixtures that are used unconsciously can neutralize our weapons, as well as not being beneficial, they can also harm cancer patients.