Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals the study of cancer and deals with cancer etiology or origin, prevention, biology, diagnosis, and treatment or Cancer Therapy.

There are four major courses of Therapy commonly used and consider in treating cancer patients. These are surgery, radiation therapy or also called radiotherapy, chemotherapy and biological therapy. Cancer therapy also includes relieving side effects caused by the treatment or treatments being used by applying interventions or using certain agents.

Cancer Therapy involves a wide range of ways to deal with cancer of different origin and with the goal of completely getting rid of the disease. Be it either lung cancer, breast cancer or any other form

• Adjuvant therapy is given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of being cured by killing cancer cells that were too small to be seen in tests. This may include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, or biological therapy.

• Neoadjuvant therapy is a therapy given before the main therapy or to make sure that the next treatment will work. An example is chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or biological therapy given to a patient before a surgery to shrink the tumor making it easy to be removed.

• Induction therapy is used to reduce the number of cancer cells which can also be followed by other treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and biological therapy to get rid of remaining cancer cells. This is also called the first-line therapy.

• Consolidation therapy is given after cancer has disappeared or gone into remission in the first treatment to sustain or maintain remission. This may include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stem cell transplant, or taking drugs that kills cancer cells.

• Maintenance therapy is given to patients usually in lower doses to prolong cancer remission, and is only used in certain cancer types.

Undergoing Cancer Therapy is not only emotionally and physically draining, but as well as financially. Cancer treatment may be a long process. Having cancer insurance may lessen one’s burden in dealing with the disease. Having a health insurance is different than cancer insurance. A health insurance might only cover a portion of physician’s fee, hospital bill, cancer therapy, and prescription drugs unlike a cancer insurance designed especially for cancer treatment.

Having trouble coping with cancer: do the depression test.