What Is Meant By Oncology?
The term oncology literally means a branch of science that deals with tumors and cancers. The word “onco” means bulk, mass, or tumor, while “-logy” means study. Oncology is also a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.
What Is Oncologists?
An oncologist is a doctor who treats cancer and provides medical care for a person diagnosed with cancer. An oncologist may also be called a cancer specialist. The field of oncology has 3 major areas based on treatments: medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology.
Cancers are often managed through discussion on multi-disciplinary cancer conferences where medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, and organ-specific oncologists meet to find the best possible management for an individual patient considering the physical, social, psychological, emotional, and financial status of the patient.
Common Cancer Types
This list of common cancer types includes cancers that are diagnosed with the greatest frequency in the United States, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers:
- Breast cancer.
- Bladder cancer.
- Lung cancer.
- Endometrial cancer.
- Kidney cancer.
- Liver cancer.
- Colon and Rectal cancer.
- Pancreatic cancer.
- Thyroid cancer.
- Prostate cancer.
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Symptoms of Cancer.
Cancer can cause different symptoms, such as abnormal bumps, night sweats, or unexplained weight gain or loss. Only a doctor can tell if symptoms are caused by cancer or some other problem.
How Cancer Is Diagnosed?
If you have a symptom that does not go away or a screening test result that suggests cancer, the doctor must find out whether it is due to cancer or some other cause. Learn about tests and procedures that help figure out the reason for your problems.
Cancer Screening.
Checking for cancer (or for abnormal cells that may become cancer) in people who have no symptoms is called screening. Several screening tests have been shown to detect cancer early and to reduce the chance of dying from that cancer.
Cancer Screening Overview.
Cancer screening means looking for cancer before symptoms appear, when cancer may be easier to treat. Learn about different screening tests and the possible benefits and harms of using them.
Screening Tests.
Learn about tests that may be used to screen for cancer in people without symptoms of disease.
Screening Research.
Find research articles on cancer screening, which may include news stories, clinical trials, blog posts, and descriptions of active studies.
Cancer Treatment.
There are many types of cancer treatment. The types of treatment that you have will depend on the type of cancer you have and how advanced it is. Some people with cancer will have only one treatment. But most people have a combination of treatments, such as surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. You may also have immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or hormone therapy.
Clinical trials might also be an option for you. Clinical trials are research studies that involve people. Understanding what they are and how they work can help you decide if taking part in a trial is a good option for you.
When you need treatment for cancer, you have a lot to learn and think about. It is normal to feel overwhelmed and confused. But, talking with your doctor and learning all you can about all your treatment options, including clinical trials, can help you make a decision you feel good about.
Questions to Ask about Your Cancer Treatment.
Suggested questions to ask your doctor about treatment choices and the possible side effects of cancer treatment.
