One of the worst and the most dangerous diseases in the world now is cancer. Cancer remains prevalent even with the number of medical professionals increasing. There are certain clinical limitations to the cancer treatment methods used today. There are numerous causes for this, such as inadequate treatment, delayed diagnosis, and serious adverse effects from anticancer medications. The majority of tumors have developed resistance to the anti-cancer drugs presently available in the market, which lowers the overall survival rate of cancer patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more effective anticancer medication therapy. Nanotechnology has recently provided a ray of hope for more effective cancer treatment. The synthesis and use of nanomaterials and nanoparticles, comes under the area of nanotechnology, becoming more and more interesting in the treatment of cancer because of their vital roles as drug carriers and photo-sono-sensitizers. As a result, two new therapies have been developed: sonodynamic therapy (STD) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). This review mainly focuses on the overall status of cancer, its many stages, existing pharmacological treatments, and the use of nanomaterials in the treatment and diagnostics of different cancer subtypes.