Cancer Treatment
Treatment Options
Every treatment plan is personalized to your diagnosis, goals, and overall health.
Virginia Cancer Specialists offers coordinated care across medical oncology, hematology, radiation oncology, surgery, clinical trials, and supportive services. Your physicians and care team will walk you through the options that fit your cancer type, stage, and preferences.
Explore the treatment areas below to learn more about how we care for different diagnoses. If you are looking for oncology terms or medication definitions, visit the Oncology Dictionary page.
Explore Treatment Areas
Search directly through our library of treatments and resources below.
Oncology Dictionary
Search oncology terms and medication definitions on our interactive NCI-backed Oncology Dictionary page.
Quick Links
Explore Our Treatment Options
Browse curated collections of information. Learn more about the breadth of expertise of our Physicians.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses powerful medications to destroy cancer cells or stop them from growing and dividing.
Scalp Cooling
Scalp cooling is a non-drug therapy used during certain chemotherapy treatments to help reduce hair loss.
Radiation Therapy
Virginia Cancer Specialists offers advanced radiation therapy for a wide range of cancers and select benign conditions.
Research & Clinical Trials
Since 1997, the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute has helped bring the latest advances in cancer treatment to patients throughout our community.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is an innovative type of cancer treatment that helps the body’s own immune system recognize, target, and destroy cancer cells.
CAR T-Cell Therapy
This groundbreaking, personalized immunotherapy is transforming outcomes for patients with certain blood cancers, offering new hope where traditional treatments may have failed.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is an effective treatment for certain cancers that use naturally occurring hormones to grow, most commonly breast and prostate cancers.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that focuses on specific genes, proteins, or other molecular features that help cancer cells grow, spread, and survive.
Looking for information about a specific diagnosis? Browse Disease Types.
Cancer Treatment Options
Most treatment plans combine several of these approaches. Your Virginia Cancer Specialists care team builds a plan around your specific diagnosis — explore each option below, or browse all treatments & services.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses powerful medicines to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth, and it remains one of the most widely used and effective cancer treatments. It can be given on its own or alongside surgery, radiation, or other therapies.
- Given by IV infusion or as pills, in planned cycles with recovery time between
- Delivered in our offices by our medical oncology team, close to home
- Often used to shrink a tumor before surgery or lower the risk of recurrence after
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses precisely targeted, high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells while sparing nearby healthy tissue. Virginia Cancer Specialists offers advanced, state-of-the-art radiation for a wide range of cancers and select benign conditions.
- Painless outpatient treatments that usually take only minutes a day
- Planned and delivered with image guidance by our APEx-accredited radiation oncology team
- Can be the main treatment, or support surgery and chemotherapy
Surgery to Treat Cancer
Surgery is one of the oldest and most effective treatments for cancer. For many cancers, removing the tumor offers the best chance for a positive outcome, often combined with other therapies before or after the operation.
- Used to diagnose, stage, and treat cancer, and to relieve symptoms
- Minimally invasive and robotic-assisted techniques when appropriate
- Coordinated with your medical and radiation oncologists as one care plan
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy helps your body’s own immune system recognize, target, and destroy cancer cells. Over the past decade it has transformed treatment for many types of cancer.
- Works with your immune system rather than attacking cells directly
- Usually given by IV infusion in our offices
- May be used alone or with chemotherapy, radiation, or targeted therapy
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy focuses on the specific genes, proteins, and other molecular features that help cancer cells grow and survive. By attacking what makes a cancer unique, it can be highly effective with fewer effects on healthy cells.
- Guided by biomarker and genomic testing of your cancer
- Taken as pills or given by infusion
- Often paired with chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or immunotherapy
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy treats cancers that use the body’s natural hormones to grow — most commonly breast and prostate cancers — by lowering hormone levels or blocking their effects.
- Usually pills or injections rather than infusions
- Can lower the risk of recurrence after surgery or radiation
- Managed by your medical oncology team, sometimes over months or years
Specialized Programs
CAR T-Cell Therapy Program — one of the most advanced treatments for certain blood cancers: your own immune cells, re-engineered to fight the disease.
Scalp Cooling — cold-cap therapy that can significantly reduce hair loss during many types of chemotherapy.
Clinical Trials & Research — access to tomorrow’s treatments today through the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute.
Ready to Make an Appointment?
If you have questions about whether this treatment or service may be right for you, make an appointment with the Virginia Cancer Specialists team.