Types of treatments
Cancer treatment can involve different approaches, and each one plays a specific role in your care. This page introduces the main types of treatment offered at The Ottawa Hospital’s Cancer Centre, including surgery, systemic therapies, radiation, transplantation and cellular therapies, and pharmacy services. Together, these treatments are tailored to your diagnosis and needs, and are supported by teams who work closely with you throughout your care.
Making decisions
Sometimes, there’s more than one way to treat a health problem. When that happens, it’s important to choose the option that fits best with what matters most to you. We can help.
Surgery
Surgery is a treatment that removes cancer or affected tissue as part of your overall care plan.
Systemic therapy
Systemic therapy, which includes chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormonal therapy are ways to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth throughout the body.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses targeted radiation to kill cancer by damaging cancer cells while protecting nearby healthy tissue.
Transplantation and cellular therapy
Transplantation and cellular therapy support your body’s ability to fight cancer by replacing or strengthening blood and immune cells.
Pharmacy
The pharmacy team prepares and reviews cancer-related medicines to ensure they are safe and effective for your treatment.