Urgent care vs. the ER: How to know where to go
June 11, 2026
Visit the ER for serious illness or injuries when you need emergency care. Visit urgent care for minor injuries or illnesses that need same-day care.
Advanced treatment for cancer in Illinois
Specialists at Ascension Illinois provide advanced cancer treatments and procedures based on your diagnosis and care plan.
Cancer treatments and procedure
Your care team at Ascension Illinois recommends treatments based on the type of cancer, stage and your overall health. Your treatment plan may include:
Medications and drug therapy
Delivers chemotherapy directly to a tumor while cutting off its blood supply.
Chemotherapy (or chemo) uses medications that travel through the bloodstream to destroy cancer cells
Blocks or lowers hormones that help certain cancers grow, including breast, prostate, thyroid, endometrial and adrenal cancers. Sometimes hormone therapy involves surgically removing the gland that's making the hormones.
Uses medications that either boost the body’s immune system or help it better identify and attack cancer cells
Radiation therapy
A form of radiation therapy given directly inside the body, placed as close to the cancer as possible using tiny devices, such as wires, seeds, or rods
Radiation delivered from a machine outside the body that targets cancer cells without touching the body
A type of stereotactic radiosurgery that uses very precise gamma rays to treat tumors, most often in the brain, without surgery. Even though it’s called surgery, a Gamma Knife procedure doesn't use incisions.
Advanced radiation techniques that deliver precise doses to tumors while limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue
Uses high-energy beams (called photons) or charged particles to destroy cancer cells or stop them from growing
Highly focused radiation treatments that deliver high doses to a specific area without an incision
A type of photon radiation therapy that delivers radiation in a continuous 360-degree rotation for precise targeting. TomoTherapy expands our treatment options for brain and other cancers in high-risk areas.
Uses radioactive particles to target liver tumors while blocking its blood supply
Cancer surgery
Creates a new breast shape in place of a breast that’s been removed (mastectomy). Breast reconstruction can be done using implants, tissue from another part of your body or a combination of both. Surgery may be done to reconstruct either one breast (unilateral) or both breasts (bilateral)
Removes cancer while preserving as much of the breast as possible
Minimally invasive procedures used to diagnose or treat early stage tumors
Removes skin cancer one layer at a time while preserving healthy tissue. Each layer is examined under a microscope to look for cancerous cells, until your provider finds a layer without any.
Minimally invasive surgery that uses robotic technology for greater precision and smaller incisions, similar to a laparoscopy
Replaces damaged bone with healthy stem cells after treatment
Minimally invasive chest surgery using a small camera and instruments through smaller incisions
Additional cancer care options
Talk to your doctor to learn if a clinical trial — research studies that evaluate new treatments — may be an option for you
Tests used to diagnose cancer and guide cancer treatment plans
A small swallowable capsule with a video camera that captures images of the digestive tract
Helps you and your doctor better understand your risk for certain types of cancer and guide screening or treatment decisions
Evaluates breast tissue to help diagnose cancer
Ascension Illinois offers the Cooler Heads’ Amma™ system to help reduce hair loss during certain chemotherapy treatments
Your cancer care team provides support including nutrition education, counseling, support groups, yoga, spiritual care, cancer rehabilitation therapy, and can connect you to community resources. At Ascension Illinois sites of care, our healing gardens and chapels are always open to patients and their loved ones
If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, go directly to the ER or call 911.
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