The treatment given for cancer is variable and dependent on a number of factors including the type, location and amount of disease and the health status of the patient. Most treatments are designed to either directly kill/remove the cancer cells or to lead to their eventual death by depriving them of signals needed for cell division. Other treatments work by stimulating the body's own defenses against the cancer cells.
The treatments may be divided into different categories based on their goal and mode of action. Often the different types of treatment are used in combination, either simultaneously or sequentially. The following sections describe some of the most common forms of cancer treatment. The actual types of treatment and the order in which they are used are decisions made by the physician and patien