It depends on the type of cancer, and what stage it is at when diagnosed but there are three commonly used treatments.

• Surgery – sometimes surgery is needed to remove some tissue from a lump to discover whether someone has cancer or not. This is called a biopsy. If cancer is found then surgeons may need to operate again to remove the entire tumour. This may then be followed by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
• Chemotherapy – these drugs are either swallowed or given directly into the artery. They may be given all in one go or slowly over a period of time.
• Radiotherapy – this involves exposing the cancer to a type of radiation over a short period of time. Radiotherapy can be effective in killing cancer cells and reducing the size of tumours.