Cancer treatment can be a gruelling process and some people are so put off by going through it several times that they may choose to decline procedures if tumours return. It’s important to chat to cancer specialists about our care because they can keep us updated on the latest methods that aim to prolong our life more painlessly.
Cancer immunisations?
It would make cancer treatment much more tolerable if we could just visit our local clinic and get an injection to prevent the disease from taking hold in our bodies, like we can with flu. This may not be too far into the future, according to experts. The Food and Drug Administration in the US recently gave its stamp of approval regarding injections that target advanced prostate cancer tumours. Other vaccines are also being researched that could shrink ovarian, lung and pancreatic lumps. As well as potential vaccines to rid our bodies of the disease, immunisations to prevent the condition have already been launched via human papilloma virus injections. These counteract strains of the condition that create the majority of cervical cancer cases in the UK.
On target
Radiotherapy is another common treatment option we’re offered when we get a cancer diagnosis, but like chemotherapy it has undergone lots of advancement recently. One of the issues linked to the procedure in the past, is that the high intensity rays could affect surrounding healthy tissue. Instead of using these kinds of rays, radiographers can now target tumours with lower frequency electromagnetic waves via cytotron, which can help to preserve surrounding tissue.
Scientists have also developed techniques that allow them to attack cancers very precisely using a robotic arm. The cancer is imaged and its exact location measured so it can be removed via the mechanical device. These cancer treatments show that we are gradually getting closer to that ideal scenario where cancer can be treated and resolved like other common illnesses.
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