Maintenance therapy is the use of ongoing chemotherapy (the use of drugs to kill cancer cells) or other treatment to help lower the risk of the cancer coming back after the first treatment. It also may be used for patients with an advanced cancer that has no cure to help keep the cancer from growing and spreading further.

There are many different ways chemotherapy (the use of drugs to kill cancer cells) and other drugs to treat the cancer and manage the symptoms can be given to a person with cancer. One of the most common ways is intravenously, meaning the drug goes into a vein. Veins used in intravenous (IV) therapy can be in the arms, neck, or chest.

When researching treatments, you will likely come across advertisements for products or services that claim to treat or cure cancer. There are several types of such alternative treatments advertised, especially on the Internet. They all claim to help. However, before investing time and money on any of them, it’s important to evaluate the claims carefully, check them out using the resources given in this article, and talk with your doctor.

Cancer and cancer treatments may cause side effects that require the immediate attention of your doctor and health care team. In this article, learn about the signs and symptoms of infections, deep vein thrombosis (a potentially life-threatening blood clot), and tumor lysis syndrome (a condition that can cause organ failure)—all of which require an immediate call to your doctor.

Hormone therapy is a treatment option for women with early-stage, hormone-sensitive breast cancer, identified by the presence of hormone receptors. Hormone therapy lowers the risk of recurrence (cancer that returns after treatment) by blocking tumor growth caused by hormones so that cancer cells either die or remain inactive. To learn more about women’s options for hormone therapy and what they should know, Cancer.Net talked with Clifford A. Hudis, MD.

A complete blood count (CBC) is a common blood test that is used to help diagnose some blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, tell if a cancer has spread to the bone marrow, and help determine how your body is tolerating cancer treatments. If you are being treated with chemotherapy, your doctor will likely monitor your blood cell counts regularly using CBCs.

Some people with cancer receiving chemotherapy may need to have an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) or an echocardiogram (also known as an echo test) during their cancer treatment. These procedures, along with others such as a MUGA scan, will monitor your heart function and check for existing heart conditions.

A growing area of cancer research, called cancer genome research, studies the differences in genes found in tumors to understand which ones are important. Different genes are involved in different tumor types, and understanding what genes are important to the development of cancer may lead to improvements in detecting, diagnosing, and treating cancer.