Medical Oncology

In particular, medical oncology treats the tumor disease and its possible complications, relying on the following treatments:

Chemotherapy

Basically, it is a therapy focused on the delivery of cancer-specific drugs.

Since it is a systemic type of treatment, it is capable of reaching any part of the body, a characteristic that differentiates it from other targeted or local methods (for example, radiation or oncological surgery).

For this reason, chemotherapy offers specific benefits depending on what is being sought; among its objectives are healing, control or pain relief, as the case may be.

Immunotherapy

Undoubtedly, taking advantage of the patient's own immune system for the benefit of the patient is the main advantage obtained with immunotherapy.

First, it is possible to stimulate the body's own defense system to efficiently locate and attack cancer cells. On the other hand, by incorporating laboratory components into this system, it is possible to reinforce its ability to attack the tumor.

However, it is a type of therapy that is more efficient only in certain types of cancer and sometimes needs to be combined with other treatments.

Targeted or biological therapy

Targeted therapy, on the other hand, consists of provoking controlled genetic alterations so that healthy cells, and even cancer cells themselves, destroy or block themselves.

Undoubtedly, this is an area of constant and evolving scientific research; producing day after day new drugs to control the behavior of enzymes and proteins found in a cancer cell.

Hormone therapy

Hormonal or endocrine therapy is applied especially in some types of cancer (prostate cancer is a good example), in which the tumor grows and develops thanks to the intervention of sex hormones.

As with chemotherapy, it is a systemic treatment that travels through the body in search of hormones to inhibit or prevent their production.

Experimental therapies and other treatments

Finally, studies or clinical trials are continually being developed in volunteer oncology patients who meet certain inclusion criteria.

In this sense, the first thing to keep in mind is that, although it is a real alternative, there is no guarantee of effectiveness or that adverse effects will occur. There is also the option of transplanting stem cells or bone marrow, as an alternative for the treatment of different types of cancer that attack or destroy it completely, limiting the production of new blood cells.

After the patient receives the transplant, it is normal to expect that the production of healthy cells, which are also free of cancer, will be reactivated.

• Diagnose and follow up the progress of the treatment; including the accompaniment throughout the disease, including its recovery phase and periodic controls or terminal stage.
• To watch over the administration of antineoplastic drugs, their side effects, ways to control them and achieve the best interaction with other drugs or treatments.
• To attend to the complications of the tumor or those derived from its treatment.
• To provide patients and their families with all the emotional and psychological support required throughout the process, in order to favor their evolution.
• To record and inquire about any atypical behavior observed in any of their patients, so as to provide new data for scientific research, which may lead to novel and effective methods for the benefit of other oncology patients.

Just as medical oncology has a specific field of action, other areas of medicine have had to develop subspecialties to focus solely on the care of cancer patients.

Consequently, the main ones are:

It is also known as radiation oncology or radiation oncology. Basically, this specialist is in charge of planning radiotherapy treatments; using X-rays and Gamma rays.

In this particular, he knows when and for what purpose to use radiation; keeping a strict follow-up of the execution of the treatment and keeping a constant record of the patient's evolution.

Similarly, pediatric oncology integrates both medical specialties to focus on the diagnosis, treatment and management of the child with cancer.

Undoubtedly, the management of oncology patients is a challenge for any health professional, but in the case of pediatric patients, there are additional conditions that make their care a very precise and delicate area.

Gynecologic Oncology, as it is also known, is a field dedicated exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of cancerous tumors that develop in the female reproductive system.

This is why this specialty of gynecology and obstetrics includes a high degree of specialization, since it involves knowledge of the structures that may be affected in case of cancer of the uterus, ovary, vulva, cervix or vagina.

Finally, Hemato-oncology, Oncologic Hematology or Onco-hematology is a subspecialty that not only deals with cancers detected in the blood (leukemias, myelomas, lymphomas).

In particular, this field supports the treatment of any type of cancer that attacks or destroys blood cells; hence the importance of its participation in any medical oncology team.

Finally, there are subspecialties that are also dedicated to a particular type of patient. Thus, it is possible to identify areas such as Pediatric Hematology Oncology Oncology or Pediatric Radiation Oncology Oncology; dedicated exclusively to the care of children.