What are the goals in cancer treatment?
Before starting cancer treatment, it’s essential you understand the goals of the treatment. There are three basic goals of cancer treatment:
1. Cure
2. Control
3. Palliation
However, treatment options can help shrink the cancer burden or stop cancer from growing and spreading. These can help your child feel better and live longer. “
Cure
If treatment is used to destroy cancer and ensure it does not come back, it is called treatment with curative intent. Although the goal is a cure, there is no guarantee that it won’t come back. It takes years of follow up to know if a person is cured of cancer or not.
control
In some cases, the doctor may explain that complete treatment (cure) may not be possible with your child’s particular cancer. However, nowadays, treatment options can help shrink the cancer burden or stop cancer from growing and spreading. These can help your child feel better and live longer. In this situation, your child’s doctor will explain to you the intention of treatment as “control”.
Palliation
Sometimes, cancers in the advanced stage cannot be treated or controlled. However, treatments are available to control symptoms such as pain and vomiting. In this situation, the treatment intention is palliative.
What are the different treatment options available for treating cancers in children?
” Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are the main treatment methods in children “
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are the main treatment methods in children. Doctors can treat children’s cancer with chemotherapy alone. Some varieties are treated with a distinct combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. It mainly depends on the type of cancer, stage of cancer and general health of your child.
What is Chemotherapy?
Medicines (drugs) used for treating cancers are called chemotherapeutic agents. It is also called “chemotherapy” or, in short, ‘chemo.’ The chemotherapeutic treatment destroys cancer cells. There are many chemotherapy drugs. It can be given alone or in a combination of multiple chemotherapeutic drugs together. It is also given with other treatment modalities like radiotherapy and surgery. However, they also have potential side effects.
How do chemotherapy medicines work in the body?
Chemotherapy medicines essentially kill existing cancer cells and stop them from reproducing. Each one acts differently in the body. However, these medicines can also affect healthy cells in the body, causing side effects.
How is chemotherapy given to your child?
” It can be given orally (through the mouth) or by injection. “
Chemotherapy can be given in different ways. It can be given orally (through the mouth) or by injection. Your doctor will place a special injecting system in the body through which the nurse can inject chemotherapy with little pain or little discomfort to your child. This injecting system is called the Central Line. In some cancers, chemotherapeutic medicine is given to the space around the brain and spinal cord. This is called intrathecal chemotherapy administration. Rarely, cancer medicine is also given by injecting into the muscle, it is called intramuscular injection.
How do doctors decide the quantity of cancer medicine for your child?
Doses of chemo are decided based on its safety and effectiveness. Taking too little chemo will not treat cancer well, and taking too much may cause life-threatening side effects. For this reason, doctors must calculate chemo doses precisely. Usually, it is based on Body Surface Area or Bodyweight.
Why is chemo medicine given at regular intervals or in a particular order?
Chemotherapeutic drugs are given in a fixed schedule called cycles. First, a dose of one or more drugs is given, followed by a few days or weeks without treatment. This gives normal body cells time to recover from the side effects of chemo. However, sometimes serious side effects may occur, and your doctor may change the chemo plan (dose or schedule) to allow your child to recover.
What is Radiotherapy?
One of the treatments for cancer is radiation therapy. Radiotherapy uses high-energy particles, such as x-rays to destroy or damage cancer cells. Radiation works by causing damages in the DNA inside cancer cells. These stop cancer cells from growing and dividing and often induce their death. Surrounding normal cells may also get affected by the radiation.
What is the Role of Surgery in the treatment of Cancer in children?
Sometimes, surgery has a vital role in the treatment. The entire cancer mass can be removed by surgery. This is largely based on the type and size of cancer. Sometimes, surgery is done after giving chemotherapy, as chemotherapy shrinks the tumor quickly and makes surgery easy or possible.
How do doctors develop treatment methods for cancers in children?
It is not easy for a single doctor to develop treatment methods for managing cancer. Today, many children’s cancer doctors work together and set up treatment guidelines based on research and scientific data. These guidelines explain the dosage and type of medicines, combinations of different treatments and their schedule. In addition, many international children cancer doctors organizations like COG and UKCCLG recommend specific treatment guidelines based on evidences.
