Every person who is diagnosed with and going through treatment for cancer deals with this transition in life in different ways. One thing is certain—adopting healthy lifestyle practices during and after treatment can greatly improve your health in the long term. Additionally, learning more about your treatment options can also help you decide what’s best for you.
Healthy Lifestyle Choices
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet
- Exercising regularly
- Reduce stress
- Quit smoking
- Limit alcohol intake
- Staying in touch with healthcare providers
Cancer Treatment Options
- Surgery
o Preventive (prophylactic)
o Diagnostic
o Staging
o Curative
o Debulking
o Palliative
o Supportive
o Reconstructive
- Radiation therapy
o External beam radiation therapy
o Internal radiation therapy
o Brachytherapy
- Chemotherapy
o Systemic treatment with strong drugs to stop cancer from spreading, slow the growth of cancer, kill cancer cells, and relieve symptoms such as pain
- Targeted therapy
o Technically considered chemotherapy; however, these drugs can target cancer cells while doing less damage to normal cells
- Immunotherapy
o Stimulates the immune system to work harder
o Gives the immune system components to fight cancer cells
Thomas B. Skidmore, MD
Salt Lake Regional Medical Center
www.saltlakeregional.com
