Adjuvant Cancer Radiotherapy

Cancer affects people of all ages, nationalities and colors, and as one of the leading causes of death, it is certainly scary to be diagnosed with the disease. Despite the fact that there is no known cure or secure prevention, there are treatments that can push cancer away. For example, there are cases in which the oncologists and radiotherapists have to work hard to prescribe and administer all types of treatments to a patient in hopes that the cancer will disappear; however, there are other cases in which surgery will remove the tumor completely, especially if it was detected early. Moreover, this doesn’t guarantee that the cancer won’t be back, and that’s why doctors recommend adjuvant cancer radiotherapy.

Treating Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer has become one of the leading causes of death in men, and it happens to be more common in African American men. The only other established risk factor is age, since men that are 50 years and older have higher probabilities of developing prostate cancer. In the last few years, prevention of the disease has been possible by periodic checkups; this has helped increasethe survival rate to approximately 90% for a five year period. Furthermore, adjuvant cancer radiotherapy has improved the quality of life of the many men that suffer from prostate cancer. Studies have shown that the patients that had adjuvant cancer radiotherapy after surgery had greater chances of survival, and lower probabilities of going through cancer relapse.

Adjuvant and Chemo Against Breast Cancer

Breast cancer happens to have the same effect that prostate cancer has in men, because it has become one of the leading causes of death for females. According to the statistics published in the reports of the American Cancer Society, there are almost 40,000 deaths in women projected for this current year. One of the most important risk factors for developing breast cancer is age, because it has been proven that as females get older, their chances of developing breast cancer are higher. Treatments for breast cancer have been studied since the 1970s and parts of the clinical trials have found that adjuvant cancer radiotherapy may increase the chances of survival after surgery just by a minimal rate. However, the decision of receiving adjuvant cancer radiotherapy should be discussed between you and your oncologist.

Systemic Therapy After Surgery

The main goal of performing surgery or having chemotherapy done is to remove the cancer for good. However, there is no guarantee that the cancer will indeed stay away, and it could always come back (relapse). This is where adjuvant cancer radiotherapy comes in; the entire purpose of adjuvant treatment is to help the body fight off the cancer that attempts to come back. Oncologists and doctors will discuss with you the possible adjuvant treatments that you may receive, and this has to be in concordance with your overall health state. In some cases, the doctor might advise you to not receive any adjuvant cancer radiotherapy because the side effects can be extremely devastating.