Cancer Treatment

Treatment plans are unique to each patient and situation and depend on the location of the tumour and the stage of the cancer. You will work with your health-care team to establish an individualized plan.

Treatment options primarily include surgery, systemic therapy (chemotherapy), and radiation therapy.

Surgery is often the first step in cancer treatment and can be used to diagnose and treat cancer. More than half of the people diagnosed with cancer will have some type of surgery. To find out if surgery is used to diagnose or treat a specific cancer, please go to the BC Cancer Types of Cancer page for more information.

Cancer surgeries are done by surgeons at hospitals throughout the province, including within Interior Health, with some cancer surgeries done at the BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre. Where surgery is performed depends on the type, location, and stage of cancer, and will be discussed between you and your health-care team.

Learn more about how to prepare for surgery

Chemotherapy is a type of treatment called systemic therapy. Systemic therapy is used to treat or control fast growing cancer cells throughout the body. It may be given alone or in combination with other treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, or immunotherapy.

Other types of drugs such as hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy are also used to kill cancer cells. The BC Cancer Systemic Therapy page is an excellent resource for more information related to these types of treatment.

Systemic therapy at Interior Health is offered at our Community Oncology Network (CON) clinics, which are located in several of our local hospitals, or at the BC Cancer – Kelowna Centre.

Interior Health CON clinic locations/contact information

Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, is used to treat some, but not all, cancers. About half of patients with cancer get radiation therapy as part of their treatment. It may be used alone or with other treatments such as surgery or systemic therapy.

BC Cancer – Kelowna is currently the only location within the boundaries of Interior Health where radiation therapy is offered.

Find more comprehensive information on the BC Cancer Radiation Therapy (RT) page