Treatments & side effects

Medical information reviewed by Victorian Cooperative Oncology Group. See disclaimer.

Cancer treatment depends on the cancer type, where it began, and whether it's spread (as well as your general health and personal choices). People often have more than one type of treatment. Options include:

• surgery to remove cancer cells
• chemotherapy and radiotherapy, to destroy cancer cells or stop them multiplying
• targeted therapy, a new form of treatment for some cancers, which attacks just cancer cells
• immunotherapy, which helps the immune system fight cancer
• hormone therapy, which reduces cancer-growth-promoting hormones that cause some cancers to grow.

Many cancers can be cured. When cancer is advanced and a cure is unlikely, treatments can relieve symptoms, help you feel as comfortable as possible and may help you live longer. This is called palliative treatment.

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