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Cancer Treatment Options
Within the Medical Center, Wadley offers cancer care to include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy-Wadley offers an outpatient oncology department on the medical center's fourth floor. Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells, control their growth, or relieve pain symptoms. Chemotherapy may involve one drug, or a combination of two or more drugs, depending on the type of cancer and its rate of progression. Chemotherapy can be used in combination with other treatments such as surgery or radiation, to make sure all cancer cells have been eliminated.
Chemotherapy is administered in three ways:
- Intravenous (IV) is by far the most common method. A needle is inserted into a vein and attached with tubing to a plastic bag holding the chemotherapy drugs. The needle is taken out at the end of each treatment.
For some patients who undergo several chemotherapy sessions, a catheter, another type of plastic tubing, is inserted into one of the large veins and left in place during the entire chemotherapy regimen. Some patients have a metal or plastic disc known as a "port" implanted under the skin, to serve as an IV connection device.
IV bags are attached to a tall metal stand with wheels, providing some mobility. Some patients wear a small pump outside the body, with minimal interference to their normal routine. Other patients may have a drug pump surgically inserted into their body.
- Oral chemotherapy drugs are given in pill or liquid form.
- Injections are administered into the muscle, under the skin, or directly into a cancer lesion, depending on the type or location of the cancer.
Side effects vary from patient to patient and with the type of drugs used. The most common side effects of chemotherapy include:
- Temporary hair loss
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Pain
- Increased risk of infection
- Depression
- Increased sun sensitivity
- Numbness or weakness in the hands and feet
Surgical Intervention - Some cancers can be surgically removed to achieve a cure. The cancerous lump, tumor or mass is surgically removed, along with a clean border or margin of healthy tissue. A course of radiation therapy often follows surgery.
Radiation Therapy - Wadley has invested in the latest technology available to treat cancer. Cancer treatment modalities utilized at Wadley include:
- Brachytherapy, high-dose rate remote
A type of brachytherapy in which the radioactive source is removed between treatments.
- Stereotactic radiation therapy
Sometimes called radiosurgery, this technique delivers a well-defined, narrow beam of high-dose radiation therapy to places difficult to reach and treat.
- Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is used to eradicate cancer cells by employing high-energy electron, neutron and proton beams from outside the body. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy is a treatment technique that utilizes computer-driven equipment to control the shape and precise accuracy of the beam, sparing the normal, healthy tissue.
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