Being diagnosed with cancer is easily one of the most frightening things that any person could ever go through. Those who have been diagnosed often don't know where to turn when it comes to finding effective treatment. In fact, that individual may not be aware of all of the treatment options available. Therefore, it becomes exceptionally important to educate oneself on treatment options as well as the potential effectiveness of each type of treatment related to that specific cancer diagnosis. Only then can the individual in question make an educated decision about which steps to take moving forward. There are several potentially effective medical treatments available, as evidenced by the following list. The types of treatments that an individual is likely to choose will depend largely on the specific type of cancer in question, along with the overall health of the individual. Some people have a tendency to tolerate certain therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy better than others. Each of these will be discussed in greater detail in the following paragraphs.

1 - Radiation

This is one of the types of cancer therapy that has been around for quite some time. Fortunately, technology has come a long way and the radiation treatment of today isn't nearly as harsh on the body as it once was. The idea is to stop the growth and remove the cancer cells with a beam of radiation. Typically, a person is exposed to several radiation treatments over the course of several weeks or even months. There are usually breaks in this treatment, effectively giving the body an opportunity to recharge as opposed to weakening it unnecessarily with treatments that are too close together. The drawback to such treatment is that it can cause other complications in the body, especially with the heart. It also has a tendency to eliminate healthy cells as well as cancer cells, which is one of the reasons why cancer patients can only undergo a certain number of treatments at any one given time.

2 - Chemotherapy

For some of the more aggressive forms of cancer, patients are often given radiation and chemotherapy together. Chemotherapy involves traveling to a medical facility and being hooked up to an IV so that powerful medication can be given. Again, the purpose is to eliminate the cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often effective in managing a cancer diagnosis. However, it also has a tendency to make patients violently ill and can result in hair loss as well as weight loss. For some, it's virtually impossible to tolerate chemotherapy. Others don't seem to have as much trouble with it. Fortunately, there are now a number of medications available that can help patients deal with the nausea and some of the other more prominent side effects of chemotherapy, thereby allowing them to take the potentially life-saving treatment with fewer side effects.

3 - Proton Therapy

Proton therapy is one of the newer forms of cancer treatment available, although it has been around for a number of years now. This is something that is commonly used when medical experts haven't had much luck with radiation and chemotherapy. In some cases, it's prescribed for certain types of cancer because it produces fewer side effects. For example, an individual who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer may receive proton therapy to manage the cancer or even rid the body of cancer cells, all without feeling the side effects that are typically associated with radiation and chemotherapy. It's also prescribed more often for individuals that are very young, older individuals, or those who have compromised immune systems and may not tolerate other forms of treatment as well.

4 - Targeted Radiation Therapy

Granted, this is still radiation therapy but with one big difference. As the name implies, it is targeted therapy, meaning that the cancer cells themselves are targeted by the radiation treatments. This typically means that the beam is focused over a tighter area of the body, potentially allowing the patient to undergo effective radiation therapy without killing healthy cells in the process. It also means that the individual in question is less likely to experience adverse side effects and it could potentially even mean that some of the more serious consequences associated with radiation therapy can be better managed. For instance, it may be possible for a patient diagnosed with lung cancer to get targeted radiation therapy without causing additional damage to the heart or other vital organs.

5 - Oral Medication

More recently, a number of oral medications have become available that are frequently used in conjunction with the therapies listed above in order to help patients better manage their condition. These oral medications are not designed to rid the body of cancer, but to allow the individual who has been diagnosed with the disease to have a better quality of life while they are combating it with other therapies. Therefore, various oral medications may be prescribed in conjunction with radiation, chemotherapy or proton therapy in order to help a cancer patient live longer and enjoy a better quality of life in the process.