Another mode of treatment is to use radiation to kill the cancerous cells. Again, like medical chemotherapy, radiation causes damage to cells, so the idea of radiation is to target the cancer and spare normal cells. This is a good option for a solid tumor that has not spread from its original site because the radiation can be confined to one area of the body and thus one can avoid the adverse side effects that come will full-body medical chemotherapy. However, radiation is not without its own set of side effects, including changes to the skin in the area of radiation as well as damage to normal cells living near the cancer.

Often, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are combined for the treatment of a single cancer in a person. Because many cancers are difficult to treat, it is likely that a combination treatment plan will have a better chance of success. The future of cancer treatment includes options that are more selective for the cancer that will have fewer side effects and allow cancer patients to feel much better during and after their treatments. There are certainly other treatments for specific cancers that I have not discussed, but I hope I have given you an overview of the idea behind the common treatments for cancers of the skin as well as other organs.