23 July 2009
Treatment aims to cure the cancer in many cases. With modern therapies, many cancers can be cured. Doctors tend to use the word 'remission' rather than the word 'cured'. Remission means there is no evidence of cancer following treatment. However, in some cases a cancer returns months or years later.
There are three main ways of treating cancer:
Occasionally a stem cell transplant is also required. Your child's treatment will depend on the type of cancer he / she has. Each type of cancer has its own treatment plan (protocol). Your doctor will explain your child's protocol to you prior to starting treatment.
Stem cell transplant
Stem cell transplant is a way of allowing much higher doses of chemotherapy to be given to improve the chances of completely curing the disease. In children, this type of treatment is usually used for more aggressive types of cancers. Bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a form of stem cell transplant.
In stem cell transplant, very high doses of chemotherapy (with or without radiotherapy) are given over a few days and stem cells (either the child's own or donated by someone else) are then given back to 'rescue' the child from the effects of high dose treatment. It
is important to know that high dose treatment is complicated and may not be appropriate for some cancers.
Traditional and Alternative Therapy
Traditional and alternative therapies are a diverse group of health care practices and products that are not part of usual medical treatment. They may include products from 'sinsehs' or from other non medical professionals such as vitamins, herbs, or dietary supplements, or procedures such as acupuncture, massage, and a host of other types of treatment.
Some of these treatments are harmless in certain situations, while others have been shown to cause harm or interfere with the medical treatment. Most of them are of unproven benefit. Before changing your child's treatment or adding any of these therapies, please discuss this openly with your child's doctor or nurse.
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