Chemotherapy can be used to cure the cancer on its own in some situations. It can be used after other treatments, including surgery, to kill off any hidden cancer cells that might have been left behind. It may also be used to prepare you for other treatments, and to ease cancer symptoms.
Today, for some types of cancer, we can develop a treatment plan that is unique to that cancer, and you may receive a course of chemotherapies, immunotherapies and targeted therapies that are more likely to treat your specific cancer.
The oncology team may take samples of your tumour and test for specific DNA and proteins, and in the diagnosis of your tumour and cancer, the doctor may use precision medicine to effectively treat your cancer.
The steps taken to personalise your cancer treatment will start with the screening process, followed by a matching of treatment to those of your own genes and the genes of the cancer. Finally, the doctor will predict the likelihood of the cancer returning or progressing.