Alternative therapy – For certain women, other types of complementary or alternative care may be helpful. These approaches use therapies that may help patients feel better and recover faster. One example is acupuncture, which may help relieve pain and nausea associated with chemotherapy. Massage therapy for cancer-related fatigue is another alternative therapy.

Biologic therapy – This is a type of treatment that works to target specific processes within cells to stop or slow the growth of cancer or to make chemotherapy more effective. These molecular targeted therapies can be new drugs, immunotherapy or gene therapy.

Gene therapy – Gene therapy is an experimental treatment that involves introducing genetic material (DNA or RNA) into a person’s cells to fight disease. Gene therapy is being studied in clinical trials (research studies with humans) for many different types of cancer and for other diseases. Gene therapy may target healthy cells to enhance their ability to fight cancer, or target cancer cells, to destroy them or prevent their growth.

Immunotherapy – This is a treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the body’s immune system to fight cancer, infections, and other diseases. It is also used to lessen some side effects of cancer treatments. Also called biological therapy, biotherapy, or biological response modifier (BRM) therapy.