Medical Oncology: Personalized Cancer Care at ACTC Florida

When Should You See a Medical Oncologist?

Some changes in your health should prompt a visit to your primary care doctor. That doctor can evaluate you, order tests, and refer you to a medical oncologist if needed. Watch for:

• Excessive fatigue that does not improve with rest
• Unintended weight loss
• Unexplained or persistent pain
• A lump or swelling that does not go away

Once cancer is confirmed, a medical oncologist creates a treatment plan tailored to your diagnosis. This plan outlines the medications you may need and how they will be administered based on the specifics of your condition.

Medical oncologists carefully consider several factors when deciding which treatment is best for you. These include the type of cancer you have, its location, stage, and size, and whether it has spread to lymph nodes or other organs. Your overall health also helps determine the timing and type of medicines used.

The treatment goals depend on your individual situation. Sometimes, the aim is to cure the cancer completely; other times, it may be to control growth or relieve symptoms.

Types of Medical Oncology

Medical oncology includes several types of medicine-based cancer treatments, often used alone or in combination with surgery or radiation. The three common types are: chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a type of medicine that destroys cancer cells by stopping their rapid growth and multiplication. It can be given before surgery to shrink tumors, after surgery to remove leftover cancer cells, or as the main treatment if surgery isn’t an option.

Side effects vary widely by drug and person, and not every chemotherapy medicine causes hair loss or nausea. Your medical oncologist will explain what to expect from your specific treatment.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy involves medicines that specifically block or interrupt genes or proteins driving your cancer’s growth. Doctors first identify targets in your tumor to select the right medicine.

These therapies work by reducing cancer cells’ ability to grow, divide, and survive. Because targeted medicines act on specific molecular targets, their side effects are typically distinct from those of standard chemotherapy.

Some targeted therapies have fewer side effects, whereas others can cause more serious adverse effects, depending on the drug and its target.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy helps your immune system recognize and fight cancer cells. It uses substances naturally produced by the body or engineered in a laboratory to strengthen the body's defenses against cancer.

Types of immunotherapy include antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell therapies, and cancer vaccines. Not every cancer type responds equally well to immunotherapy, so your oncologist will determine if it's suitable for you.