Who am I?

How is cancer treated?

Currently, there are three major ways of treating cancer: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Surgery, where the surgeon cuts out the diseased tissue, is the most effective treatment in the early stages of some types of cancer. Radiotherapy uses a beam of radiation to kill cancer cells. Doctors can do this with increasing accuracy as imaging techniques improve. Chemotherapy uses medicines that kill any cells that are multiplying rapidly. Cancer cells do this but so do other body cells like hair cells, which are also killed, resulting in hair loss during treatment.