Treatment

After test your subsequent treatment will depend on the type of cancer involved and its progression. All patients will have their information, with the results of all relevant tests, discussed in a meeting of specialists in their cancer type. This is known as a multidisciplinary meeting (or MDM) and will usually include oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, histopathologists and other appropriate specialists. The team meets in order to allow an opportunity for broad discussion of the patient's condition. If a solid tumour is involved the role of surgery will be discussed. For many patients treatments other than surgery are appropriate and even if surgery is considered it might be preceded by other treatments. These other treatments could include radiotherapy and drug therapies (those which aim to treat cells anywhere in the body) such as chemotherapy, hormone treatment, and targeted agents. For non-surgical treatments you will be referred to an oncologist.

Most typically, if a solid tumour is involved, you will be referred to a consultant surgeon who will operate to remove the growth if that is technically possible and if the cancer hasn’t spread to other parts of the body. If the cancer is removed and is at a very early stage and therefore there is a low risk of it returning, you may not require any further treatment. If the cancer has been removed but examination of it under the microscope shows it has a high risk of returning, you may be referred to an oncologist for preventive (adjuvant) treatment which may involve drug treatment such as chemotherapy, or radiotherapy, hormone therapy or sometimes all. If the cancer can’t be removed by a surgeon or has spread elsewhere in the body, then you are also likely to be offered drug treatment and/or radiotherapy.

Sometimes a cancer may become operable if it is shrunk, and in that case chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy may be given before an operation with the intention of making the operation easier and more successful. This is called neoadjuvant therapy. If you have a haematological (blood or lymph glands) type of cancer, drug treatment is usually the mainstay of treatment with radiotherapy sometimes playing a supplementary role. Surgery is not often used with these cancers.