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Cancer Treatment Options
Radiation & Surgery
Radiation: Radiation treatment is used sometimes to
treat leukemia cells in the brain and spinal fluid or testicles.
It is also used, though rarely, in an emergency to treat compression
of the trachea (windpipe). Even in this situation, however,
radiation is being replaced by chemotherapy.
Surgery: Because leukemia cells
spread so widely through the bone marrow and to many other
organs, it is impossible to cure this type of cancer by surgery.
Surgery rarely has any role even in the diagnosis, since a
bone marrow aspirate is usually all that is needed to identify
and classify leukemias.
At the time of leukemia
diagnosis or soon thereafter a surgeon may put a venous
access device (large plastic tube) into a large vein. The
end of the tube is under the skin of the chest area or upper
arm. Having such a venous access device will allow the nurses
to inject chemotherapy and other medications more safely and
remove blood samples without discomfort. It is very important
for a patient to learn how to care for the venous access device
to prevent it from becoming infected.
Find out more about…
Chemotherapy
| Blood Stem Cell Transplants
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Leukemia Cancer Information