WHAT IS MEDICAL ONCOLOGY?
It is a specialty, derived from Internal Medicine, that is responsible for the study, diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of cancer.

WHAT IS CANCER?
Group of diseases that can affect any part of the body, starting with an abnormal cell, which proliferates, evades death, develops a survival mechanism, invades adjacent tissues and has the ability to travel over a distance.
Alteration in the balance between proliferation and cell death, with the development of a clone capable of invading and destroying adjacent tissues with the capacity for distant dissemination.

HOW IS CANCER TREATED?
Treatment depends on the primary site, the clinical stage, characteristics of the tumor and the patient’s conditions. The three fundamental modalities are: Chemotherapy, Oncological Surgery and Radiotherapy.

YOUR CHEMOTHERAPY PLAN.
You and your Cancun Cancer Institute oncologist will decide which medication or combination of medications you will receive. Chemotherapy medications, doses, and treatment schedule depend on many factors:

• The type of cancer.
• The size of the tumor, its location, and whether it has spread (the clinical stage of the disease).
• Your age and general health.
• How well you can cope with certain side effects.
• Previous cancer treatments.
• Before starting chemotherapy, it is the shared responsibility (of the Medical Team, patient and family) to evaluate its benefit versus risk, and control the situations that allow us to have the best results with the treatment.

TREATMENT PLANNING.
Cancer treatment is multidisciplinary, at Cancún Cancer Institute we have the support of Radio Oncologist, Oncological Surgeons, Nutrition, Psychology, oncological rehabilitation.

APART FROM CHEMOTHERAPY, WHAT ARE THE OTHER SYSTEMIC TREATMENT MODALITIES?
Systemic cancer treatment has various modalities: chemotherapy, antihormonal therapy, target therapy and immunotherapy, and their various combinations.

HOW ARE SYSTEMIC TREATMENTS SELECTED?
Treatment depends on the type of cancer, that is, the primary site, as well as the clinical stage and its objective. These have been tested according to clinical studies, as well as updated international guidelines and recommendations.