Revised March 2007
Surgery, cancer drugs and radiation therapy are all proven to cure cancer, extend life, or improve quality of life.
The type of treatment or the order of treatment will be different for individual patients, depending on the location of the tumour, the stage of the disease at diagnosis and what BC Cancer Agency treatment guidelines indicate.
For example, surgery is not always the first treatment. Sometimes radiation therapy or cancer drugs are used to shrink the tumour prior to surgery, or chemotherapy may be the best first option. Sometimes one type of treatment is used, usually a combination of treatments are used.
Patients and families may hear the term "investigational treatment". This means that the treatment is being studied in a clinical trial to determine whether it is a safe and effective way to treat cancer.
"Support programs", "alternative" or "complementary" are also terms patients may come across. It is important to understand there are critical differences between conventional treatments, support (coping with cancer) programs and unconventional therapies.
Conventional therapies have been proven to cure cancers. Support programs are used to help patients who are using conventional treatments. Alternative or complementary therapies have not usually undergone rigorous scientific testing to see if they are safe or effective.
Check out our Coping with Cancer section for help with nutrition, emotional, financial and practical support, how to deal with symptoms and side effects, and information about palliative care.
About Treatment at the BC Cancer Agency
The BC Cancer Agency provides cancer care and treatment through a unique system of provincial programs, including teams of health-care professionals (scientists, physicians, nurses, pathologists, radiologists, pharmacists, nutritionists and counsellors) who research and develop treatment policies and guidelines for specific types of cancer.
These guidelines are based on solid, scientific evidence and are used by health-care professionals throughout the province.
This ensures that all British Columbians have access to the same, reliable, high-quality care.