The news of cancer can be scary, but effective diagnosis and treatment can help cure cancer. It is essential to know the symptoms of cancer to treat it. Cancer can affect any part of the body. Untreated cancer can cause fatalities. This blog is a guide to finding the skills in the best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding Cancer and Its Symptoms: To treat cancer, the symptoms must be recognized. Proper recognition of symptoms leads to proper diagnosis and treatment.
- Expertise of Oncologist: Opting for an experienced oncologist is vital for holistic treatment.
- Patient Reviews: Understanding patient experience and results is important when choosing the best oncologist for the best cancer treatment in Hyderabad.
What is Cancer?
In general, cells divide and replace older cells in a controlled manner. But when cells are altered to the extent that they multiply out of control, it leads to cancer. A tumor is a section of such abnormal cells. Not all tumors are cancerous, but most cancers come from tumors, which can be removed by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad.
Benign or non-cancerous tumors don’t create new tumors. However, malignant or cancerous tumors spread to other parts of the body and interfere with body functions. Malignant cells travel through the lymphatic system and blood vessels to form tumors in various body parts.
Major Types of Cancer
Cancer types are classified based on the part of the body that they affect and they are treated by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad:
- Carcinoma: Cancers in breasts, pancreas, lungs, skin, organs and glands
- Lymphoma: Cancer of lymphocytes
- Leukemia: Cancer of blood that does not form solid tumors
- Sarcoma: Cancer of fat, muscle, bone, blood vessels, cartilage or other soft connective tissue
- Melanoma: Cancers in the cells that make pigment in the skin
Although cancer has been affecting people for ages, it is only in the past century that medical science has understood its progression. With oncologists making scientific advances, cancer is now curable.
Symptoms of Cancer:
Rush to the best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad if any of the below cancer symptoms are found:
- A lump in a body part that can be felt under the skin
- Unusual bleeding or bruising
- Persistent fevers or night sweats
- Difficulty in swallowing
- Unexpected weight loss
- Fatigue
- Yellowing, darkness or redness of skin, sores that don’t heal or changes on existing moles
- Changes in bowel or bladder habits
- Continuous cough or troubled breathing
- Hoarseness
- Continuous indigestion or discomfort after eating
- Unusual muscle or joint pain
Smoking, chronic inflammation, radiation, cancer-causing chemicals, viruses, obesity, hormones, and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to cancer-causing gene mutations.
Cancer Treatment
Cancer treatment is carried out by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad to cure cancer and increase the lifespan of the person. Cancer treatment can be:
Primary Treatment:
Primary treatment aims to remove cancer from the body or kill its cells. For most cancers, surgery is the primary treatment performed by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad. Some cancers respond to radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Adjuvant Therapy
Adjuvant treatment is targeted to kill residual cancer cells present after primary treatment. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy are some common adjuvant therapies. A neoadjuvant therapy is given by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad before primary treatment to make it easier.
Palliative Care
Palliative care is carried out to improve the quality of life of the person infected with cancer and their family. Palliative care is given by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad during intense cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to provide hope to the person and make them look at the positive perspective of life.
How to Prepare for Cancer Treatment
Cancer treatment can be stressful, but it is essential to walk through the below steps to get effective treatment:
- Talk with the Doctor: Check with the best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad about treatment options. If you have any questions, make a note of them and bring a family member or a friend so that they can listen and make notes.
- Take a second opinion: It is essential to get a second opinion for cancer treatment. Presenting cancer symptoms in front of another doctor may help brainstorm other treatment options.
- Get Support from Cancer Survivors: Cancer can be stressful, but talking with cancer survivors can be beneficial in getting advice about treatment and side effects.
- Get Professional Support: Talk to the best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad about connecting with a psychologist or social worker who can offer support.
- Prepare the Body: Talk to the doctor regarding nutritional counselling and fitness classes to prepare the body for cancer treatment.
What to Expect
There are various cancer treatments. The doctor will suggest the right treatment based on the patient’s cancer stage, general health, and preferences. The doctor will weigh the benefits and risks of each treatment.
Cancer treatment options are as follows:
- Chemotherapy: Strong medicines are used by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad to treat cancer. These medicines are either given intravenously or as pills.
- Radiation Therapy: Cancer is treated with powerful energy beams, such as X-rays or protons. Radiation can be introduced inside the body through a process called brachytherapy or given through a machine that focuses treatment to precise points on the body through external beam therapy.
- Surgery: The best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad performs surgery to remove cancer.
- Bone Marrow Transplant: Also known as a bone marrow stem cell transplant, this procedure places healthy bone marrow stem cells in the body. These cells replace the damaged cells formed due to chemotherapy and other treatments.
- Immunotherapy: This treatment helps the immune system find and kill cancer cells.
- Hormone Therapy: Some hormones in the body cause cancer. Hormone therapy is given by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad to people to remove those hormones or block their effects so that cancer cells stop multiplying.
- Targeted Therapy: In this therapy, medicines attack specific chemicals in cancer cells, which in turn kills cancer cells.
- Cryoablation: A minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure in which extreme cold freezes and kills abnormal cancerous and precancerous cells. This procedure performed by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad can take up to 1-3 hours.
- Radiofrequency Ablation: In this treatment, best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad uses electricity to heat cancer cells, leading to their death.
- Clinical Trials: New treatments can be applied by best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad to treat cancer, the risks of which are unknown. Talk with your doctor to see if you are the right candidate for clinical trials.
Side Effects of Cancer Treatment
Some common cancer treatment side effects are as follows:
- Pain: Pain can make it difficult to eat, sleep, socialize, etc. Pain due to cancer treatment can be treated with the help of massage therapy, acupuncture and physical therapy.
- Fatigue: Exhaustion, weakness and tiredness can be caused due to chemotherapy.
- Anemia: When treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapies destroy red blood cells while killing cancer cells, it could lead to anemia, which can cause weakness, faintness, racing of the heart, and dizziness.
- Hair, Skin, and Nail Problems: Cancer treatment can cause hair loss. Due to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the skin can become dry, red, itchy, and swollen. The nails can become yellow and darken. Cancer treatment can also lead to cracking of nails or cuticles.
- Mouth Issues: Anti-cancer drugs can affect the salivary glands and tissues of the throat, mouth and hips. It could lead to difficulty in swallowing, dry mouth, changes in taste, mouth sores, tooth decay, infections in the mouth, and sensitivity to hot or cold food.
- Nausea and Vomiting: Immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy of the abdomen can cause nausea and vomiting that can further cause dehydration, weight changes and malnutrition.
Less common side effects of cancer include heart damage, bleeding and bruising, insomnia, fertility issues, etc.
In Summary
Getting cancer treatment from the best consultant surgical oncologist in Hyderabad is necessary for a holistic approach. If you are going through any symptoms of cancer, consult best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad immediately, as delay could lead to complications.
FAQs
1. Is cancer contagious?
Answer: Cancer does not pass from one person to another. It cannot be transmitted through saliva or other bodily fluids. However, organ tissue or tissue implantation can spread cancer from one person to another.
2. Can I miss a session of treatment?
Answer: Missing a cancer session will extend the course of treatment. The best cancer surgeon in Hyderabad may skip sessions due to falling blood count and severe symptoms.
3. Are there vaccines for cancer?
Answer: There are no vaccines for cancer as such. Still, vaccines are available for viruses that cause cancer, such as Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Hepatitis B. HPV vaccine can be protective against cervical, anal, throat and penile cancers. Hepatitis B vaccine can be helpful to protect against liver cancer, but just the vaccine is not enough to save from cancer.
4. Can cancer be cured?
Answer: Cancer can be cured when the treatment works as desired. Cancer can be in remission totally or partially, in which cancer shrinks but doesn’t disappear. The longer a cancer is into complete remission, it is less likely to return and the doctor may say that the cancer has been cured.