Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy serves as the primary treatment option for patients who have cancer. Chemotherapy is a highly efficient, time-tested treatment that uses powerful and advanced drugs to kill or curtail the mutation of malignant or cancer cells.
It is either administered intravenously or orally in some instances, and the number of cycles depends on the type and stage of cancer.
Chemotherapy is administered as a single treatment option or in conjunction with surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy, and targeted therapy. Patients may experience various adverse side effects of chemotherapy, including severe nausea, fatigue, complete hair loss, and weight loss, but they would settle down within a few months post-treatment.
Who Needs It?
The oncologist recommends chemotherapy for people with cancer to kill cancer cells. There are different situations where chemotherapy may be employed in patients with cancer.
To treat cancer without other treatment options, where chemotherapy is the main mode of cancer treatment.
After other cancer treatments like surgery, to kill those unseen malignant cells or those that may stay in the body. Generally, healthcare providers call this adjuvant therapy.
Also, to prepare patients for other treatments like radiation and surgery, chemotherapy can be used to minimize the tumour and this therapy is known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is provided to alleviate signs and symptoms of cancer by killing cancer cells and this therapy is known as palliative chemotherapy.
Further, chemotherapy is beneficial in treating other health conditions such as bone marrow diseases, and immune system disorders.
Your oncologist will choose chemotherapy methods that are powerful enough to combat the type of cancer, which results in minimal side effects. Chemotherapy drugs are given in one or more of the ways: Oral pill Injection Intravenous (IV)
Your chemotherapy schedule usually depends on the type of cancer and which medicine or combination of medicines you get. As different drugs work at varying times in the process of attacking cancer cells. It is usually given in defined cycles with rest periods between - daily, weekly, every other or third week, or monthly.
During chemotherapy treatment it cannot identify the difference between a cancer cell and a healthy cell, thus can cause side effects. Some of the most common side effects include: Nausea Vomiting Hair loss Fatigue Low blood counts In most cases, side effects are managed well by your healthcare provider by monitoring you closely throughout the treatment.