Hospital News
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- Coping With Chronic Cancer Pain
- Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke Studied in First-of-Its-Kind Series of Clinical Studies
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Weill Cornell Medical Center Announces Preliminary Lung Cancer Data Involving Patients Treated With Arthritis Medication
- Two Novel Biologics Studied for Multiple Myeloma
Research and Clinical Trials
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Clinical Services
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- Bladder Cancer
- Blood Cancer
- Brain Cancer
- Center for Holistic Urology
- Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma
- Colon Cancer
- Early Lung Cancer Action Program
- Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute
- Eye Cancer
- Gastrointestinal Cancer
- Gynecological Cancer
- Head and Neck Cancer
- Kidney Cancer
- Leukemia and Myeloproliferative Disease Center
- Lung Cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Oncology (Cancer)
- Pediatric Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Rectal Cancer
- Robert M. Ellsworth Ophthalmic Oncology Center
- Soft Tissue and Bone Cancer
- Spirit of Care Program
- Testicular Cancer
- Urologic Cancer
Cancer Treatment Protocols
How is cancer treated?
Specific treatment for cancer will be determined by your physician based on:
- your overall health and medical history
- extent of the disease - type, grade, stage, and location
- your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
- expectations for the course of the disease
- your opinion or preference
What are the four goals of treatment?
- successful treatment
- prevention
- prolonged life
- palliation (Palliation is treatment for a symptom of the cancer, such as pain. It is not a treatment for the cancer itself. The goal of palliation treatment is to improve the quality of life, not longevity.)
What are the standard types of cancer treatment?
Listed below are the conventional, primary methods of treating cancer:
- surgery
- radiation therapy
- chemotherapy
- hormone therapy
- immunotherapy / biological therapy
Cancer may also be treated with:
- adjuvant therapy - combining two or more treatments
- prophylactic or preventive treatment - treatment is sometimes given even when the cancer has not appeared, or all the cancer is thought to have been removed, if there is a significant statistical risk that the cancer will reappear later.
