No one likes to think about getting cancer. With cancer of the eye, though, there is a concern about being robbed of vision on top of the other common cancer fears. Eye cancer is treatable, and how it's treated depends on the stage at diagnosis as well as what type it is. Not all eye cancer is treated in the same way. The important thing for a newly diagnosed person to know, however, is that there are treatment options available.
Types
Eye cancer (sometimes called ocular cancer) has two main types: cancer in the eyeball (intraocular cancer) and cancer around the eyeball (extraocular cancer). There are also secondary eye cancers, where cancer from another part of a person's body has spread to the eye. Within those types, there are subtypes such as melanoma and lymphoma. Treatment options based on the kind of cancer include surgery, laser therapy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Surgery to remove the eye is generally a last resort. It will cause complete loss of vision in that eye, so most doctors try to avoid it if possible. Instead they opt for other, less-aggressive options. Laser therapy is one of those options, because it doesn't require the eye to be removed. Instead, it targets only the cancer with a small laser beam. It can cause some vision loss, but it's much less risky than surgery on the eye, and it may prevent the need for eye removal.
Radiation and chemotherapy still remain the most common treatments for eye cancer. Unfortunately, these can also make a person very sick and cause hair loss, weight loss and weakness. Chemotherapy attacks both healthy and cancerous cells, and it can damage the rest of a person's body. Radiation is not quite as hard on the body because it is much more concentrated to the specific area where cancerous cells have been found.
Like treatment for other cancers, there are benefits and risks for the treatment of eye cancer, and there are also other options for treatment, such as alternative medicines and clinical trials.
Function
Treatment for eye cancer is designed to do two things: remove or destroy the cancer if possible and keep the cancer from spreading to other areas of the body. This is the case with most cancer treatments, regardless of where the cancer is first detected. The largest issue with eye cancer, though, is what the treatments will do to the patient's vision versus the risks that come from a lack of treatment. Some eye cancers grow so slowly that no treatment is necessary, and some actually do not grow or spread at all. Aggressive and fast-growing eye cancers, on the other hand, may require removal of the eye and radiation or chemotherapy to avoid having the cancer spread or destroy it if it has already advanced beyond the eye area.
Identification
Diagnosing eye cancer at an early stage is very important for proper and effective treatment, so be aware of changes in your eyes or your vision. Many benign and treatable conditions can mimic eye cancer symptoms, so noticing some of them is not a cause for you to panic. Check with your doctor to be certain if you have blurry vision, watery eyes, pain in or around the eye, bulging of one eye or a complete or partial loss of sight. You may also see spots, flashes or wiggly lines commonly called "floaters," you may start to lose your peripheral vision or you may notice a dark spot on the colored part of your eye that seems to be growing in size. While likely not caused by cancer, it's always wise to check these things out so that eye cancer treatment can begin if necessary.
Prevention/Solution
It is not possible to completely remove your risk of ever needing eye cancer treatment, but there are some ways that you can help lower your risk and reduce your chances of getting the disease. Protecting your eyes from the sun and seeing your eye doctor regularly are the best ways to avoid needing eye cancer treatment, especially if you're genetically predisposed to cancer of the eye or have a weakened immune system, or if you've required cancer treatment in the past.
Warning
Most people aren't familiar with eye cancer and its treatment options because they don't think of the eyes as a place where people can get cancer. Make sure to take care of your eyes and have regular checkups, though, and know your options for eye cancer treatment should you be diagnosed with the disease.
Tags: cancer treatment, cancer treatment, your eyes, cancer from,