What Is Chemotherapy Treatment and How Can It Help?

Chemotherapy has been used as a treatment for cancer since the early 1950’s and it is still one of the best tools doctors have to fight the illness. Because of its potential side effects a lot of research has been done in an effort to establish just how well these types of therapies work.

The medicines used in chemotherapy have been tried and tested thoroughly to make sure that they are safe and effective and to minimize the occurrence of side effects.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer you may have been advised to begin a course of chemotherapy treatments. These may be recommended before or after surgery, together with radiation or ‘x-ray’ treatments or you may have been told to simply take the medicine without any other medical intervention.

What Does Chemotherapy Do?

Being prescribed a course of chemotherapy treatments can be viewed in a positive light since it means that there is a tool available to:

1. Control the cancer - Cancer cells are stopped from spreading, their growth is slowed down and cancer cells that have spread to other parts of your body are killed.

2. Cure your cancer – This means your body is free of cancer cells.

3. Ease pain and make you more comfortable.

When you have cancer an area in your body contains cells that are dividing and growing rapidly in an uncontrolled way. This is the common denominator in cancer and the aim of chemotherapy is to stop this haphazard and damaging process.

A treatment will be prescribed for you dependant on your individual illness and how your body responds to the treatment you are given. Your doctor will recommend a chemotherapy program based on a lot of research carried out on other people with similar cancers but the final program depends on you and the way you respond and a schedule that suits you.

In general the kind of chemotherapy you are given depends on:

  The kind of cancer you have.

  The part of the body affected by the cancer.

  How the cancer has affected your normal body functions.

  Your general health.

How Do I Take Chemotherapy?

There are several ways in which chemotherapy may be administered.

1. It may be taken in tablet form and all you will need to do is swallow a pill according to your doctor’s instructions.

2. Another way in which chemotherapy may be given is by an injection similar to getting a flu shot. You may have this done at home, your doctor’s rooms or at a hospital.

3. A third way in which chemotherapy may be given is by means of an intravenous or ‘IV’ injection in other words the medicine is injected into your veins.

There are several other ways in which chemotherapy may be taken for example, topically (applied to the skin as a cream or lotion), intramuscular (into a muscle), subcutaneous (under the skin), intra-arterial (into an artery), intrathecal (into the central nervous system via the cerebrospinal fluid), or directly into the tumor (among others).

The type of cancer you have or the drugs themselves will determine how the drugs will be given to you for example some medicines are not given by mouth because the digestive system is unable to absorb them or due to the fact that they are very irritating.

In the same way as there are several methods of taking chemotherapy drugs there are many schedules on which it may be administered. Your doctor may recommend a daily, weekly or monthly schedule.

Sometimes a drug works better if it is given together with another drug so you may be given two or more drugs at the same time. This type of treatment is called combination chemotherapy.

There are other drugs that are used to treat your illness for example those that block the effect of your body's hormones or biological therapy where you are given substances that boost your body's immune system against cancerous cells. These substances are produced naturally in the body in small amounts to fight cancer and other diseases.

In this case, they have been made in the laboratory and are sometimes given to patients to destroy cancer cells or change the way the body reacts to a tumor. They could also help the body repair or make new cells destroyed by chemotherapy.

Is Chemotherapy Used With Other Treatments?

Chemotherapy may be the only treatment a patient receives or (as is often the case) it is used together with surgery, radiation therapy, and/or biological therapy. The aim of these combined methods is to:

Shrink a tumor prior to surgery or radiation therapy, a practice known as ‘neo-adjuvant therapy’.

Eradicate any cancer cells that may remain after surgery and/or radiation therapy. This is called ‘adjuvant chemotherapy’

Assist radiation and biological therapy to work more effectively.

Destroy cancer if it recurs or has spread to other parts of the body from the original tumor.

How Often Must Chemotherapy Be Taken?

How often you need to take the medicines depends on the kind of program you are on and the type of cancer you have, so it will differ from person to person. Doctors also use previous research shown to produce the best results to determine a schedule and method for taking chemotherapy drugs, but in general it depends on how your body and the type of cancer you have responds to treatment.

Does Chemotherapy Have any Side Effects?

There are people who don’t experience any unpleasant side effects from their chemotherapy but some people do feel ill when they take the medicines prescribed for them. Chemotherapy drugs need to be strong to attack the bad cells in your body and in the process also attack any quickly dividing cells, even those that are completely healthy and not cancerous.

As you read through this list of possible side effects remember that you may not experience all or even any of these effects on your body and that your body can and does repair its cells after chemotherapy has been stopped. The possibility of unpleasant side effects should not be a reason to avoid what could be a life-saving treatment. To a large degree your general state of health and fitness will determine how your body responds so you can prepare yourself by eating and sleeping well and taking moderate exercise.

Some Effects of Chemotherapy:

  The cells in your hair and bone marrow grow quickly and are damaged early on so the loss of these cells can make you lose your hair or make it dry and brittle.

  The cells of your skin and mouth can be affected which may cause you to get mouth and throat sores.

  If cells in your stomach and intestines are damaged you may feel sick or vomit. You may also experience constipation and diarrhea.

  You may experience severe appetite and weight loss both from treatments and the effects of the cancer itself.

  Your bone marrow may be affected. Your bone marrow makes all your blood cells, red cells, white cells, and platelets and can be affected in that it might not be able to make sufficient red blood cells and this may cause anemia which in turn will make you feel week and tired. This is known as bone marrow suppression and is one of the most commonly experienced side effects of chemotherapy.

  Chemotherapy treatment can cause your white blood cell count to drop. These cells are responsible for protecting the body from infection so you may be advised to take special care in avoiding infections like wearing a surgical mask, staying away from anybody with a cold or flu and making sure all your foods are cooked properly. You will also be advised to follow good hand washing procedures.

  Your blood platelets may also be affected. Platelets are cells that make your blood clot and protect seal up any cuts or bruises. If you have too few platelets you may bleed excessively even if you get a tiny cut. So you will need to be very careful and avoid hurting yourself. You may even need a special toothbrush to avoid hurting your gums when you brush your teeth.

  During your chemotherapy treatment your blood will be monitored and a complete blood count done to determine the effects of the medication on your bone marrow.

  You may experience some problems with your sexuality and this can occur in both men and women. Your sexual desire may decrease temporarily. Women may experience a fluctuation in their hormones and experience hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Since this aspect of chemotherapy can cause problems in your relationship it may be a good idea to find out as much as possible about the side effects and talk about them with your partner. In some cases chemotherapy may damage the reproductive organs causing low fertility and loss of libido.

  More serious side effects can cause damage to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and central nervous system but these will not occur in all patients. Ask your doctor about the risk of this type of damage.

Can the Side Effects of Chemotherapy be Lessened or Avoided?

If the list of side effects of chemotherapy treatment has left you feeling a little discouraged, the good news is that the side effects can be lessened and this is done in several ways to help patients experience less discomfort.
Your doctor may prescribe other drugs to be taken at the same time to minimize nausea and vomiting, for example.

Medicines called growth factors can be given in injection form to aid the body in repairing its bone marrow so that your body can begin to produce new blood cells or you may be given a blood transfusion to obtain new blood cells and platelets from a healthy donor. This is done so that your treatment can continue without putting your health and well being at risk.

Of course alternative therapies like rest, relaxation a healthy diet and even acupuncture can be used to get you over the worst of the side effects in a supportive way.

During your treatments you may be able to work and behave almost as normal or you may need to be monitored in hospital. Each patient receives a different combination of drugs and each person reacts differently to the drugs they take so ask your doctor for an idea of how you are going to be treated and what to expect.

Is Chemotherapy Expensive?

The cost of chemotherapy treatment will vary depending on the type of drugs you take, how often you take them and how long you need to be using the treatments. If you want to find out how much your treatments are going to cost ask your doctor to work out an estimate based on the number of treatments you are likely to need. If you realize you will need help in affording your treatments ask your treatment professionals how to go about it.

Your medical insurance may pay for all your chemotherapy or only some of it so make sure you find out these details before you begin so as to avoid becoming alarmed when you will need all your strength to fight your illness. Ask a social worker at your hospital about government programs like Medicare or Medicaid if you know you won’t be able to afford your treatment program.

Remember that undergoing chemotherapy can be a difficult time for you and for your extended family alike but keeping a positive and optimistic outlook can help tremendously. You may not feel at your best during your treatments so be honest with yourself and your family about what you are able to handle and set limits and boundaries on your activities that are clear to everybody. This will help you to get through your treatment as painlessly as possible and improve your overall outlook.