An Introduction about Cancer and Treatment
What is Cancer?
Some cells in our body grow out of control, forming masses and spreading to nearby structures Normally, our body has a mechanism to kill a diseased cell When these normal processes fail, cells grow uncontrollably A cell becomes two cells and then divide into 4 8,16,32 cells and so on to form billions of cells, forming a mass called cancer.
Symptoms depend on the site of cancer. Breast cancer can present as a painless lump in the breast. Cervical cancer presents with abnormal vaginal bleeding, vaginal discharge, or pain in the lower abdomen (pelvis). Oral cancer presents as a growth or ulcer in the mouth with pain.
Sometimes there are no symptoms, rarely it is diagnosed in a master health check-up.
How to diagnose cancer?
- A cancer diagnosis is based on patient symptoms, clinical examination, blood tests (core blood tests and tumor markers), and biopsy.
- Gastrointestinal cancer can be biopsied through an endoscopy of the stomach or colon. Core needle biopsy of a breast lump is done for breast cancer. Biopsy material is studied under a microscope and this study is called histopathology to confirm the diagnosis of cancer.
What are the treatment options for cancer?
Tumor boards consist of a surgical oncologist, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, palliative care specialist, pathologist, and radiologist.
surgery
Based on the location and stage of the disease, surgery is the primary treatment, if possible. The aim of surgery is to remove cancer completely with adequate margins. Cancer surgery is performed by cancer surgeons called surgical oncologists.
After surgery, we evaluate whether there is a tendency for cancer to come back (recurrence) based on the size of the tumor and biopsy studies and immunohistochemistry.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a chemical treatment given through a drip into a vein Chemotherapy works by stopping cell growth Some chemotherapy is given at a fixed interval ie once every 1, 2, or 3 weeks Common side effects of chemotherapy include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, infections, and hair loss. Most symptoms are temporary and manageable.
Targeted Agent
Targeted cancer drugs are like missiles that specifically target certain proteins, hormones, or genes. For example, in chronic myeloid leukemia, there is a BCR-ABL gene that causes leukemia. Imatinib is a drug that targets the BCR-ABL gene and treats chronic myeloid leukemia.
Radiation therapy
Radiotherapy delivers high-energy particles to make small breaks in the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) structure of cancer, thereby killing the cancer cells. It is the single main procedure in several cancers like cervical cancer, throat cancer, etc.
Modern radiotherapy machines like TruBemit take just a few minutes to administer radiotherapy.
Pain reliever medication
- In late-stage cancer, the goal of palliative care is to achieve good symptom control and improve the patient’s quality of life.
- We use a subcutaneous infusion of morphine in selected patients to achieve better pain management without affecting the level of consciousness.
- This facility has the ability to treat any type of cancer.
Services Offered:
Surgical Oncology
Medical Oncology
Radiation Oncology
Palliative Medicine
Cancer diagnosis service:
Diagnostic facilities like hematology, biochemistry, and histopathology lab are available with up-to-date facilities. Radiology services like CT scans, MRIs, and PET-CT scans. Cancer counseling to patients and families.
Why choose the Rila Institute and Medical Center for cancer care?
- Excellent international standards for cancer care
- Well-experienced Oncology Team
- We offer hope
- We treat patients compassionately
- We have tumor boards that include all oncology specialists, pathologists, and radiologists to make patient treatment decisions.
An Introduction about Cancer and Treatment
