Oncology

Oncology is a branch of science that deals with different types of cancers and tumors and tells about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and tumor. Three branches of oncology used for curing patients suffering from cancer: Medical, Surgical, and Radiation.

Cancer- there are multiple cells present inside our body which are required for various purposes and when the amount of cells growing inside the body increases then it leads to cancer which is a fatal disease. There are different types of cancer developing in our body nowadays including breast cancer, uterus cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer etc.

Symptoms of Cancer- Fatigue, sudden change in weight which occurs unintended, Area under the skin gets thickened up, change in the color of the skin like yellowing, redness or darkness, sores transfused into moles, unexplained bleeding, difficulty in swallowing, cough persistent to a long time and difficulty in breathing, hoarseness are some of the general symptoms which may or may not be due to cancer.

The Procedure of Oncology-

• Screening- with doctor’s recommendation patient needs to go for the screening which would be appropriate for you. Studies suggest that patients suffering from cancer who are diagnosed at an early stage have a more surviving chance. However, for some cancer cases, the screening is done only with those patients who are at a higher level of risk.
• Treatment- After the screening patients are taken for further treatment which depends upon various measures like the type and the stage of the illness. It also depends upon your health conditions and on your preference too.

Treatment- cancer can be treated in various ways which include the following:

1. Surgery- Through surgery surgeons remove the infected part and try to cure the illness as much as possible.
2. Chemotherapy- in this procedure heavy dose of drugs is used to kill the cells of cancer.
3. Radiation Therapy- In this medical procedure, heavy radiation beams like X-Rays are used to kill the cancer cells. It is done in two ways External Beam Radiation and Brachytherapy.
4. Bone Marrow Transplant- The diseased part of the bone marrow gets replaced with new healthy stem cells.
5. Immunotherapy- Cancer survives in our body for a long time as our immune system doesn’t recognize cancer as an intruder. Through Immunotherapy, doctors check the immune system and treat it.
6. Hormone Therapy- there are various cancers including breast cancer and prostate cancer are fueled by the growth of body hormones. So through hormone therapy the hormones which are responsible for developing infections.
7. Targeted Drug Therapy- in this procedure drugs would be used to cure the special abnormalities occurring inside the body.
8. Alternative Methods- there are various methods which if accompanied with above-mentioned treatments then it would be more helpful in resolving the issue of cancer to some extent like Acupuncture, Hypnosis, Massage, Meditation, Relaxation techniques, and Yoga.

Treatment Team- 2 or 3 types of oncologists are accompanied with a pathologist, radiologist and an oncology nurse. The team takes the consultation of the tumor board which guides the team at each and every step.

Responsibilities of Patients- Patients need to follow some of the things during the whole procedure of Oncology including restricting the diet, Symptoms you find something unrelated, do share if you have a kind of stress, share if any of your family members suffered any kind of cancer, proper medication is a must to do thing to make a proper list of medications, try to accompany yourself with a friend or a family member whenever you visit the doctor. Be prepared with your questions which you need to ask your doctor.