Cancer treatments

There are many ways to treat cancer. The main treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Many cancers can be fully cured, especially if they are found early.

On this page

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells while doing the least possible damage to normal cells.

Depending on the type of cancer you have, chemotherapy may be the only treatment you need.

Chemotherapy — Cancer Societyexternal link

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your own immune system to fight cancer. It is mostly used to treat cancer that has spread throughout the body.

Your immune system is how your body naturally protects you from disease by killing bacteria and germs.

Immunotherapy — Cancer Societyexternal link

Radiation treatment

Radiation treatment uses radiation beams to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth. It is also called radiation therapy or radiotherapy.

Radiation treatment is carefully planned to affect only the part of the body at which the beams are aimed.

Radiation treatment — Cancer Societyexternal link

Targeted treatments

Targeted treatment uses medicine to target specific genes or proteins either inside cancer cells or on their surface. 

Each medicine blocks a specific target, for example, a damaged gene or protein, on or within a cancer cell.

Targeted treatments — Cancer Societyexternal link

Clinical trials

Clinical trials are part of the research to find new and better ways to treat cancer. There may be clinical trials of new and emerging cancer treatments available that you could join.

Clinical trials for cancer treatment — Cancer Societyexternal link

Other therapies

Some people may choose to use complementary therapies or traditional healing (rongoā Māori) alongside conventional treatments to help manage cancer symptoms and the side-effects of treatment.

Alternative therapies are used instead of conventional medicines and treatments.

There is no evidence that any type of complementary or alternative therapy prevents or cures cancer. They can also interfere with conventional cancer treatments.

Complementary, traditional and alternative therapies — Cancer Societyexternal link

Access to funded cancer medicines

In June 2024, the New Zealand Government announced $604 million of extra funding for the combined medicines budget over 4 years, including additional funding for cancer medicines. 

This increase to Pharmac’s budget will make newer treatments for some cancers more accessible. Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga is the government agency that decides which medicines and related products are funded in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The government also allocated $38 million in the first year to meet the costs of additional staff and facilities to deliver the newly funded medicines.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora provides treatment and care to people with cancer throughout Aotearoa. It is working to make the newly funded medicines available as soon as possible. To make sure people with cancer who are in the greatest need get their treatment soonest, there is a clinical prioritisation process.

You can find out which drugs Pharmac is funding, and is working towards funding, on their website. 

Cancer and other medicines: Track our progress to funding — Pharmacexternal link

The Cancer Control Agency | Te Aho o Te Kahu is a government agency created in recognition of the impact cancer has on the lives of New Zealanders. The agency works to support increased access to cancer medicines and has a website with useful information.

Increasing access to new cancer medicines — Cancer Control Agencyexternal link

Information for health consumers on the process behind making more cancer medicines available — Pharmac, Health New Zealand, Cancer Control AgencyPDF351 KB