Cancer is a disease that occurs when some cells of certain organs or tissues in our body, which are normally regulated by strict control mechanisms, deviate from control for various reasons and become irregular and disrupted.

Which Treatment Approaches Are Applied in Cancer Treatment?

Cancer treatment resembles a team sport that requires close collaboration among different departments. In this team, which includes experts in imaging, pathology, biochemistry, and endoscopists during the diagnosis stage, the following trio shares the leading roles when it comes to the treatment stage:
•    Surgeons who remove diseased tissues from the body through surgical interventions and specialists who apply interventional treatments,
•    Medical oncologists who destroy cancer cells with a variety of drugs from different classes or administer immune-enhancing drugs,
•    Radiation oncologists who eliminate diseased tissues with radioactive rays.

It is vital that the mentioned treatments be performed by physicians specialized in those fields. Especially, the number of medical oncologists who treat cancer with drugs is extremely insufficient in our country. If these treatments are performed by incompetent physicians, it can lead to irreparable consequences.

How Are Chemotherapy Drugs Selected?

Cancer treatment is one of the most demanding fields in medicine. All applied treatment methods are determined through exhaustive processes lasting an average of 10 years, utilizing entirely scientific methods, and are recognized as standard treatments by authorized international institutions and organizations through consensus.
In some rare types of cancer where standard treatments have not yet been established, medical oncologists may apply various treatments based on their personal experiences in exceptional cases. These treatment methods are referred to as "optional treatments." However, according to medical ethics and laws, the treatments applied in the majority of cancers are standard treatments, and the decision is not left to the discretion of the physician.
 

Where, How, How Often, and for How Long Is Chemotherapy Administered?

Chemotherapy drugs can be administered orally, intramuscularly, or intravenously; through injection directly under the skin, beneath the skin, or directly into certain organs and tissues using a syringe. In some cases, chemotherapy treatments can also be administered through pre-inserted catheters, depending on the patient and the characteristics of the drugs to be administered. Some of these catheters may be entirely implanted under the skin.
The frequency of drug administration and the total duration of drug administration are determined by the medical oncologist based on the nature of the disease, the characteristics of the administered drugs, the purpose of the treatment, and the response to the treatment. Drug administration can occur daily, consecutively for several days, once a week, every 15 days, or every 21 or 28 days, depending on the decision made by the medical oncologist.
The unit of time consisting of drug administration and the subsequent rest period is called a "cycle." While the total number of cycles is predetermined in some cancer types, in certain cases, it is decided over time by the medical oncologist based on the patient's condition and the course of the disease. Chemotherapy treatments are predominantly conducted on an outpatient basis worldwide, rarely requiring the patient to be hospitalized.