DIAGNOSIS
The earlier cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better the chance of its being cured. Some Types & Symptoms — such as those of the skin, breast, mouth, testicles, prostate, and rectum — may be detected by routine self-exam or other screening measures before the symptoms become serious. Most cases of cancer are detected and diagnosed after a tumor can be felt or when other symptoms develop. In a few cases, cancer is diagnosed incidentally as a result of evaluating or treating other medical conditions.
Cancer Diagnosis & Medication begins with a thorough physical exam and a complete medical history. Laboratory studies of blood, urine, and stool can detect abnormalities that may indicate cancer. When a tumor is suspected, imaging tests such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and fiber-optic endoscopy examinations help doctors determine the cancer’s location and size. To confirm the Diagnosis & Medication of most cancers , a biopsy needs to be performed in which a tissue sample is removed from the suspected tumor and studied under a microscope to check for cancer cells.
If the Diagnosis & Medication is positive (cancer is present), other tests are performed to provide specific information about the cancer. This essential follow-up phase of Diagnosis & Medication is called staging. The most important thing doctors need to know is whether cancer has spread from one area of the body to another. If the initial Diagnosis & Medication is negative for cancer and symptoms persist, further tests may be needed. If the biopsy is positive for cancer, be sure to seek a confirming opinion by a doctor who specializes in cancer treatment before any treatment is started.
RECOMMENDED MEDICATIONS
Treatment depends on the stage of Cancer and ranges from chemotherapy by taking medications, biologic therapy by immunotherapy and gene therapy, resection or the removal of tumors or affected organs, and radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the medicines enter your bloodstream, travel through your body, and kill cancer cells both inside and outside the lung area. Some chemotherapy drugs are taken by mouth (orally), while others are injected into a vein (intravenous, or IV).
Lung Cancer-Medications
Lung Cancer Treatment consist of resection of affected part of the lung, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Chemotherapeutic drugs along with radiation therapy can possibly cure lung cancer. Other medicines may be used to help alleviate pain.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can help control the growth and spread of the cancer, but its cure is still subjective. It also may be used to treat more advanced stages of non-small cell lung cancer. Type of chemotherapeutic agent depends on the stage of the cancer and the type of lung cancer, whether it is small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer or adenocarcinoma lung cancer.
Small cell lung cancer usually require a more rigorous treatment with combination chemotherapy, meaning there are several chemotherapeutic drugs given to the patient. In non-small cell carcinoma, since it is usually localized in a specific area of the lung, resection is advised in early stages of the cancer, then a single chemotherapy drug is given. In adenocarcinoma lung cancer, a single chemotherapy drug is given.
Some of the more common chemotherapy medicines used for lung cancer include the following:
- Bevacizumab
- Carboplatin
- Cisplatin
- Crizotinib
- Docetaxel
- Paclitaxel
- Erlotinib
- Etoposide
- Gemcitabine
- Irinotecan
- Pemetrexed
- Vinorelbine
Most chemotherapy causes some side effects. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to control nausea or vomiting.
You may be concerned about losing your hair from cancer treatment. Not all chemotherapy medicines cause hair loss, and some people have only mild thinning that is noticeable only to them. Talk to your doctor about whether hair loss is an expected side effect of the medicines you will receive.
Medicines for pain
Pain is one of the main concerns of people who have cancer. But cancer pain can almost always be controlled with medicines and other options. Medicines used for cancer pain include Non-Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, prescribed medicines, such as hydrocodone or morphine. Corticosteroids such as dexamethasone can be beneficial in bone pain.
Breast Cancer-Medications
In the early stages of Breast cancer, excision, removal of a part of the breast or mastectomy, removal of the whole breast is done. Then radiation therapy follows excision to prevent further growth of the tumor. In the invasive type of breast cancer, chemotherapy is added after the first two method. Hormonal therapy and targeted therapy are other treatment options for breast cancer.
Medicine choices
Chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is used in early-stage invasive breast cancer to get rid of cancer cells that may be left behind after surgery to reduce the risk of cancer coming back; and in advanced stage cancer to destroy or damage the cancer cells as much as possible. Commonly used medicines include:
- Capecitabine
- Gemcitabine
- Cyclophosphamide
- Docetaxel
- Paclitaxel
- Doxorubicin
- Epirubicin
- Vinorelbine
- Vincristine
- Paraplatin
Hormone therapy. Hormonal therapy works by lowering the estrogen amount in the body, and by blocking the action of estrogen on breast cancer cells. This method can only be effective in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, or those found to be affected by the hormones. Medicines for hormone therapy include:
- aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane)
- selective estrogen receptor modultor (tamoxifen, raloxifene, toremifene),
- estrogen receptor downregulators (fulvestrant)
Targeted therapy. This treatment act by focusing on specific characteristics of cancer cells, such as the protein which allows the cancer cell to grow. This may include:
- mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitor that works against hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer (e.g. everolimus)
- Bevacizumab that blocks the growth of any new blood vessels that cancer cells depend on
- Trastuzumab against HER2- positive breast cancer by blocking the ability of the cancer cells to receive signals
- Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (e.g. palbociclib)
Other medicines that may be used include corticosteroids for cancer that has spread to the brain or spinal cord and bisphosphonates for cancer that has spread to the bones.
Opiate pain relievers are the most common medicines used to treat cancer pain.
Prostate Cancer-Medications
Hormones are medicines that can affect the growth of prostate cancer cells. Hormone therapy is sometimes used with radiation treatment or surgery to help make sure that all cancer cells are destroyed.
Hormone therapy cannot cure prostate cancer. But it will usually shrink the tumor and slow the rate of cancer growth, sometimes for years. Taking a hormone-therapy medicine lowers your level of testosterone and other male hormones. Another way to lower male hormones is by having surgery to remove the testicles, called an orchiectomy.
Colorectal Cancer-Medications
Chemotherapy is the use of medicines to control the cancer’s growth or relieve symptoms. Often the medicines are given through a needle in your vein. Your blood vessels carry the medicines through your body. Sometimes the medicines are available as pills. And sometimes they are given as a shot, or injection.
Several medicines are used to treat colorectal cancer. There are also several medicines available for treating side effects.
Medicine choices
A combination of drugs often works better than a single drug in treating colorectal cancer. The most commonly used drugs are:
- Fluorouracil (5-FU) combined with leucovorin
- Oxaliplatin
- Capecitabine
- Irinotecan
Hair loss can be a common side effect with some types of chemotherapy. But hair loss usually isn’t a side effect of these drugs.
Ovarian Cancer-Medications
Chemotherapy is used to shrink ovarian cancer and slow cancer growth. Chemotherapy is recommended for most women after the initial surgery for ovarian cancer. But sometimes chemotherapy is given to shrink the cancer before surgery. The number of cycles of treatment will depend on the stage of your disease.
Chemotherapy medicines for ovarian cancer may be taken by mouth, injected into a vein (IV), or given through a thin tube into the body (intraperitoneal, or IP). Sometimes treatments may be combined to give women both IV and IP chemotherapy.
Medicine choices
Some of the chemotherapy medicines used for ovarian cancer include:
Other medicines that may be used include:
Treatment of ovarian cancer with chemotherapy can cause nausea and vomiting. To help relieve nausea, your doctor will prescribe medicines you can take with your treatments and when you get home.
Liver Cancer- Medications
Treatment for Liver Cancer may include the resection of a part of the Liver. Radiation therapy can cure small tumors. Sorafenib, a targeted therapy, that acts by preventing the growth of new blood vessels. Chemotherapy is not as helpful in Liver Cancer, because it resists most of the chemotherapeutic drugs, except for Doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, and cisplatin.