The aim of cancer treatment is to cure affected patients and save their lives. Where complete cure is not feasible, treatment aims to control the disease and keep patients normal and comfortable, as long as possible. Treatment of each patient is designed to suit the individual and depends on the age of the patient, as well as the stage and type of disease.

There are five main modalities of treatment: Surgery, Chemotherapy, Radiation therapy, Hormone therapy and Immunotherapy. Surgery and radiotherapy aim at eradicating the disease from the primary site (site of origin) of cancer, whereas chemotherapy, hormone therapy and immunotherapy deal with cancers which may have spread outside the site of origin of cancer.

Surgery is the most crucial part of the treatment for cancer. Surgery attempts to remove cancer cells from the body by removing the tumor and some area of tissue surrounding it since these may contain invading cancer cells. It is a simple, safe and effective method when the cancer is small and confined to the site of origin. It is best suited to certain types of cancers such as breast cancer, head and neck cancers, early cancers of the cervix and lung, many skin cancers, soft tissue cancers and gastrointestinal cancers.

Radiotherapy is another important form of cancer treatment and is now used in over two-third of the patients. Advances in radiotherapy equipment, techniques and applications, have led to an increasing role in local treatment and whole-body treatment. Radiation is delivered by high energy photo-beams or originating from radioactive substances and delivered by special machines. These radioactive x-rays or gamma rays can penetrate the cell wall and damage the nuclei of cells. This prevents growth and division of these malignant cells. While this also affects the adjoining normal cells, these cells can recover from sub-lethal damage better than cancer cells.