The treatment of advanced cancer depends on when it is detected. Sometimes cancer is not diagnosed until it is already advanced; in this case you may decide to undergo conventional cancer treatment. Other times a patient may not respond to standard cancer treatment and the cancer spreads until it becomes advanced. In this situation treatment may consist of an experimental procedure undergoing clinical trial or treatment of pain only.
Conventional Treatment
Since advanced cancer has spread throughout the body, surgical removal of the primary tumor will not cure the disease. You will probably be offered radiation therapy, chemotherapy or both. Radiation therapy uses high frequency beams directed at specific points on your body and chemotherapy is the administration of drugs which kill cancer cells. These therapies may not be effective on advanced cancer, but they may provide a temporary slowing of the progression of your disease. If your cancer is newly diagnosed and you will be receiving these therapies for the first time, your chance for a successful outcome may be greater than if you have undergone treatment previously.
Experimental Treatment
If your cancer has not been healed following chemotherapy and/or radiation and has progressed to an advanced stage, treatment options are limited. You can ask your doctor to help you locate a clinical trial for the type of cancer you have. You must qualify for the trial according to their regulations and travel to the study site to participate. Cancer trials are ongoing at research hospitals all over the country like the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Alternative Treatments
You can also investigate alternative cures such as Gerson therapy, which involves drinking large quantities of raw juices, or the Budwig Protocol which advocates the use of a cottage cheese and flax oil mixture.
Pain
If you have exhausted all forms of treatment for your advanced cancer you can still receive prescription medication to control unpleasant symptoms you may experience like pain and nausea. These comfort measures can be provided to you in the hospital, hospice or at home. This type of advanced cancer treatment is called palliative care and it is aimed at treating the symptoms of cancer rather than trying to cure the cancer itself.
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