Oncology

Medical oncology is a branch of medicine, which studies tumors (cancer) and deals with the procedure to understand their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention using medicine, including chemotherapy. An oncologist generally coordinates the multidisciplinary care of cancer patients that may involve physiotherapy, counseling, clinical genetics and more. On the other hand, the oncologist also has to liaise with pathologists on the exact biological nature of the tumor, which is being treated.

Oncology is concerned with:

The different techniques available in medical oncology for the treatment of cancer, include:

Radiation Oncology
Radiation oncology is considered to be a local treatment, which means it treats a specific local area of the body. Radiation oncology treatment is in contrast to systemic therapies, such as chemotherapy that travel throughout the body. Radiation oncology therapy can be classified into two types of therapies, namely

External Radiation Therapy
In external radiation therapy, a beam of radiation is directed from outside the body. Also known as x-ray therapy, cobalt therapy, proton therapy, or intensity modulated radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells from reproducing. The treatment is administered using a machine called a linear accelerator. The treatment is given 5 days a week for several weeks, which depends on the total final dose of radiation that is planned.

Internal Radiation Therapy
In internal radiation therapy, a source of high energy is placed as close as possible to the cancer cells inside the body. This can be done by implanting seeds or by using an reservoir, into which a liquid radioactive substance is injected. It delivers a highly intense radiation to a small part of the body, which limits the dose to normal tissue. The treatment allows the doctor to give a higher dose of radiation in a shorter time than is possible with external treatment. The typical radioactive substances, which are generally used in the treatment, include - radium, cesium, iodine, and phosphorus. Depending on the substance, the implant can be permanent or temporary, although the effect wears off over time in all cases.

Side Effects of Radiation Therapy
The doses of radiation, which are used to destroy the cancer cells can also hurt normal cells. Thus the side effects of radiation therapy are directly related to the area of the body, which is being treated. For instance, radiation, which includes the abdomen, can cause diarrhea as a result of the radiation's effect on the wall of the bowel. Generally most of the side effects are temporary that disappear gradually after therapy is complete and there are Treatments Offered to deal with them. Some common side effects that may occur as a result of radiation therapy are:

If any side effect become severe, contact your doctor immediately. It may be possible that your treatment may be put on hold to allow the tissue time to heal before continuing.

The different techniques available in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer are:

Endoscopic Brain Surgery
Endoscopic brain surgery is a minimally invasive procedure, in which a thin instrument (endoscope) is used to browse through the fluid filled chambers of brain. While traditional brain surgery requires opening-up of the skull to access the brain, the endoscopic approaches require only one or two dime-sized holes.

The technique can also be used as an alternative to a shunt, in select patients and provide patients with fewer complications, less pain and faster recovery than with traditional methods.

The various services, offered by this discipline are: