Some anti-cancer drugs are adequate in themselves to treat a particular cancer, but most of them are not. Since various drugs act differently, it was considered that a combination of them, each acting differently, would have a synergistic or increased effect. Dramatic results were produced by treating lymphomas or tumour of lymph node in this way.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Choice of Drug or Drug Combination
Cancer can cause many symptoms. These symptoms may be categorised as under:
· Common to any cancer
· Others that depend upon the site of cancer, and
· The type of cancer. Some symptoms are caused by the treatment by means of chemotherapy and radiation.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Common Symptoms & Their Treatment – Part One
Leads to Cure:
· Blood cancer or acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children
· Cancer of lymphatic system or Burkitt’s lymphoma
· Hodgkin’s disease—a malignant tumour of lymphatic system
· Wilms’ tumour or tumour of the kidney common among children
· Cancer of the muscle or Rhabdomyosarcoma
· Cancer of the testes or Teratoma of the testes
· Cancer of the placenta or Choriocarcinoma
· Cancer of bone common among children or Ewing’s sarcoma
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Response of Different Cancers to Chemotherapy
Various problems arise in cancer patients during their illness. These may be related to the treatment which the patient undergoes. These problems need effective management.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Management of Pain Due to Cancer
Cough
It is treated after finding out the cause. Cough caused by infection in a case of lung cancer is treated by giving appropriate antibiotic. Irritant cough without much phlegm is suppressed by a cough mixture containing Codeine or related compounds.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Common Symptoms & Their Treatment – Part Two
After an ostomy operation, the patient loses voluntary control over the discharge of the wastes concerned, and he has to wear a special appliance for the collection of this waste. With care and training, the patient learns very soon how to manage it and thus lives a perfectly normal life.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Management After Cancer Surgery
Surgery performed on gastro-intestinal and urinary tracts creates its own problems of getting rid of the faces or the urine which now cannot be evacuated through normal openings. New openings may be/can be made by the following operations. These new openings made need constant and effective care.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Management of Problems Related to Cancer Surgery
Infection is the most serious complication in cases of acute leukemia. Infection in general, accounts for approximately 70 per cent of the symptoms and as subsequent cause of death in patients with acute leukemia.
A difficult part of the management of cancer patient is when he enters the terminal phase of his illness. When it becomes apparent that active measures to arrest further growth of the cancer are no longer proving effective, it is more important than ever to provide support and attention to the alleviation of distressing symptoms.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Management of Terminal Phase
Patients with undiagnosed leukemia may first seek care from the dentist. In these individuals, oral symptoms are among the earliest common complaints. There is a direct relationship between low platelet counts and increased episodes of serious bleeding from the gum in these patients; platelet transfusions proved effective in checking bleeding. It was also noticed that fever and septicemia predisposed to serious bleeding with rapid utilization of platelets and poor survival of transfused platelets. Thus, more frequent transfusions are needed in such clinical situations, also as prophylaxis.
Continue reading Cancer Treatment: Management of Dental Problems