Medical oncology is the branch that deals with non-surgical aspects of cancer treatment. It has evolved immensely over the years, with the advent of immunotherapy in recent times. Immunotherapy boosts the body’s own immune system to fight against the cancer cells. Great results have been obtained with this, with prolongation of life and improvement in quality of life even in advanced cancer patients.
Targeted Therapy
With the evolution in genetic studies in recent times, targeted therapy has become a mainstay of cancer treatment. No two patients with same stage of cancer behave similarly, because of difference in the genetic mutations. Every cancer patient has specific genetic mutations that can be targeted with some agents that act only against cells harbouring those mutations, without affecting other cells. In this way, we can get a better anti-cancer effect with lesser side effects. This is how targeted therapy works for cancer when given with or without chemotherapy.
Hormonal Therapy
Some cancers in our body are hormone dependent, and our own hormones play a role in proliferation of such cancer cells. Breast cancer, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer may be hormone driven in some cases, and blocking such hormones may help us achieve tumor control in such cases. This is how hormone therapy works for cancer, with minimum side effects and good tumor control.
Chemotherapy with reduced side effects
Chemotherapy is not a new concept and has been there for years now. But what’s new is that now novel chemotherapy formulations are available that have lesser side effects, with similar or even greater anticancer effects. Gone are the days when chemotherapy used to be highly toxic to the body with intolerable side effects. Now, we have many easy to tolerate novel formulations that have revolutionised the medical management of cancer, even for advanced age patients.
With all the treatment modalities discussed above, Dr. Sunny Garg strives to provide personalised cancer treatment for his patients in Gurgaon and NCR. In this concept, we decide the best treatment plan for each cancer patient based on his/her general condition, tumor stage and type, genetic make-up, financial status utilising all the treatment modalities available.
