The short answer
There are many types of cancer treatment. Some people have only one treatment, but most people have a combination, such as surgery with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The treatments you receive depend on the type of cancer you have and how advanced it is.
There are many types of cancer treatment, and they are often used together.
Most people with cancer have a combination of treatments rather than just one.
The treatments you receive depend on your type of cancer and how advanced it is.
Main treatment types include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone therapy, and stem cell transplants.
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The full explanation.
The simple version
There are many types of cancer treatment. Some people with cancer have only one treatment. But most people have a combination of treatments. A common example is surgery with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
The types of treatment you receive depend on two things. They depend on the type of cancer you have. They also depend on how advanced it is.
Most people with cancer receive more than one kind of treatment.
The main types of treatment
The National Cancer Institute lists several main types of cancer treatment:
- Chemotherapy kills cancer and other fast-growing cells, or stops them growing.
- Hormone therapy slows or stops the growth of breast and prostate cancers that use hormones to grow.
- Hyperthermia heats body tissue to help damage and kill cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy helps your immune system fight cancer.
- Photodynamic therapy uses a drug activated by light to kill cancer and other abnormal cells.
- Radiation therapy uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
- Stem cell (blood stem cell) transplants restore blood-forming stem cells. They are used in people who have had theirs destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- Surgery is a procedure in which a surgeon removes cancer from your body.
- Targeted therapy targets the changes in cancer cells that help them grow, divide, and spread.
How your treatment is chosen
The treatments you receive depend on the type of cancer you have. They also depend on how advanced it is. Every cancer is different. So two people with cancer may have very different treatment plans.
Biomarker testing is one tool that can help. It may help you and your doctor choose a cancer treatment for you.
Your plan is built around your specific cancer, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Compare options
Some searches happen when a person is trying to compare two paths. These guides explain the decision points:
- immunotherapy vs chemotherapy.
- targeted therapy vs chemotherapy.
- radiation vs chemotherapy.
- lumpectomy vs mastectomy.
- active surveillance vs treatment.
- clinical trial vs standard treatment.
- maintenance therapy vs active treatment.
- radiation vs surgery for prostate cancer.
- chemo before vs after surgery.
- proton therapy vs standard radiation.
- SBRT vs surgery.
- transplant vs CAR T-cell therapy.
Before choosing, it can help to bring a focused list of questions. Each treatment page carries its own: chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or biomarker testing.
Treatment by stage and regimen names
Once staging and biomarker results are in, many people want a cancer-specific view. Start with the treatment-by-stage guides:
- breast cancer.
- lung cancer.
- colon cancer.
- prostate cancer.
- pancreatic cancer.
- ovarian cancer.
- melanoma.
- bladder cancer.
- kidney cancer.
- endometrial cancer.
This cluster now also covers more cancers:
- cervical cancer.
- liver cancer.
- stomach cancer.
- esophageal cancer.
- thyroid cancer.
- testicular cancer.
- brain tumors.
- lymphoma.
- leukemia.
- multiple myeloma.
- sarcoma.
- head and neck cancer.
Your portal or consent form may list a treatment name. These explainers translate common regimen and drug-class language: FOLFOX, FOLFIRINOX, R-CHOP, ABVD, AC-T, Carboplatin-Taxol, PARP inhibitors, and CDK4/6 inhibitors.
Learning more about your cancer
Do you want to know how a specific cancer is treated? The National Cancer Institute provides cancer treatment information for both adult and childhood cancers.
If you are getting ready for an appointment, it can help to bring questions with you. NCI offers a list of questions to ask your doctor about treatment. It can help you talk with your doctor and learn more about your treatment options.
Bringing questions to your appointment can help you understand your options.
Regimen explainers
Your consent form may list a regimen name. These pages explain what to ask: FLOT, CAPOX/XELOX, FOLFOX vs FOLFIRI, AC-T, TC, carboplatin-Taxol for ovarian cancer, R-CHOP day by day, and maintenance therapy for myeloma.
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
Common questions
How many types of cancer treatment are there?
There are many types of cancer treatment. The main ones include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone therapy, and stem cell transplants. Other types include hyperthermia and photodynamic therapy.
Will I need more than one treatment?
Some people with cancer have only one treatment. But most people have a combination of treatments, such as surgery with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
What decides which treatments I get?
The types of treatment you receive depend on the type of cancer you have and how advanced it is. Your doctor can explain which options fit your situation.
Where can I learn how my specific cancer is treated?
The National Cancer Institute publishes cancer treatment information for both adult and childhood cancers. Your healthcare team can also walk you through the treatment options for your type of cancer.
What is biomarker testing?
Biomarker testing is a way of looking for information about your cancer. According to NCI, biomarker testing may help you and your doctor choose a cancer treatment for you.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Your next step
Get ready with a checklist and questions for the visit.
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Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
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Sources last checked: 2026-07-21 what this meansLast updated: 2026-08-11Next planned review: 2027-01-21
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status — Source checked. This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
General education — varies by person. Answers genuinely differ between people. This page explains what commonly varies and points you to your care team for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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- Radiation vs. Chemotherapy: How They Differ
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