The treatment for cancer involves the 3 basic procedures.

1. Surgery – Removes solid masses.
2. Radiation – Used to kill tumour cells in a localized area or shrink masses enough to perform surgery if it is in a sensitive place like the head or neck.
3. Chemotherapy – Multi-drug treatment that strives to kills cancer cells all over the body. Affects healthy dividing cells too.

As said before the grade and stage of the cancer determines the type of treatment used. If you have a cancer that has yet to spread. Say a T1N0M0 tumour, chances are all you need is to go for surgery to remove the mass and perhaps a little radiation treatment on the surrounding area just to get them all.

If you have advance cancer with metastasis say, an undifferentiated T2N4M1 tumour, you'd most probably go for all three procedures in varied stages of the treatment. Not exactly cheap nor is it pleasant, but it might be your last best hope of survival.

This year Footsteps in the Mirror will be blogging to raise money for the Association for International Cancer Research which is a non-profit organisation that helps fund cancer research throughout the world. If you're willing to help, you can sign up on the Blogathon website and pledge your amount right here. Help make a difference, no matter how small it may be.