Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of chemical drug therapy meant to destroy rapidly growing cells in the body.

It’s most often used to treat cancer since cancer cells grow and multiply much more quickly than most cells in the body.

An oncologist -a doctor who specializes in cancer treatment -works with you to come up with your treatment plan.

Chemotherapy drugs can be used alone or in combination with other therapies to treat a wide variety of cancers. This depends on:

• the stage and type of cancer you have
• your overall health
• previous cancer treatments you’ve had
• the location of the cancer cells
• your personal treatment preferences

While it has been proven to effectively treat many types of cancer, it can also cause serious side effects that can severely impact your quality of life.

Some of its side effects are treatable, while others can cause serious complications.

You should weigh these side effects against the risk of not getting treatment when deciding if it is right for you.

Why it’s done

Chemotherapy is primarily used to:

• lower the total number of cancer cells in your body
• reduce the likelihood of cancer spreading
• shrink tumor size
• reduce current symptoms
• To cure cancer without other treatments.
• After other treatments, to kill hidden cancer cells
• To prepare you for other treatments
• To ease signs and symptoms

Some of the chemotherapy drugs can be used for conditions other than cancer, such as:

• Bone marrow diseases: Diseases that affect the bone marrow and blood cells may be treated with a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant. Chemotherapy is often used to prepare for a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant.
• Immune system disorders: Doses much lower than those used to treat cancer can be used to help disorders in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Side effects

Common side effects include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Hair loss
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Mouth sores
• Pain
• Constipation
• Easy bruising
• easy bruising and excessive bleeding
• a loss of appetite
• weight loss
• infections
• anemia
• neuropathy
• lymphedema
• memory problems
• concentration problems
• skin changes
• nail changes
• insomnia
• fertility changes

Long-lasting and late-developing side effects

Drugs can also cause side effects that don’t become evident until months or years after treatment.

Late side effects vary depending on the drug but can include:

• Damage to lung tissue
• Heart problems
• Infertility
• Kidney problems
• Nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy)
• Risk of a second cancer

How to prepare for chemotherapy

Undergo tests and procedures to make sure your body is ready to receive chemotherapy

Blood tests to check kidney and liver function and heart tests to check for heart health can determine whether your body is ready to begin the therapy. If there’s a problem, your doctor may delay your treatment or select a different chemotherapy drug and dosage that’s safer for you.

See your dentist

Your doctor may recommend that a dentist check your teeth for signs of infection.

Treating existing infections may reduce the risk of complications during the treatment, since some chemotherapy may reduce your body’s ability to fight infections.

Plan ahead for side effects

Ask your doctor what side effects to expect during and after the procedure and make appropriate arrangements.

For instance, if your treatment will cause infertility, you may wish to consider your options for preserving your sperm or eggs for future use.

If your chemotherapy will cause hair loss, consider planning for a head covering.

Make arrangements for help at home and at work

Most treatments are given in an outpatient clinic, which means most people are able to continue working and doing their usual activities during chemotherapy.

Your doctor can tell you in general how much the chemotherapy will affect your usual activities, but it’s difficult to predict exactly how you’ll feel.

Ask your doctor if you’ll need time off work or help around the house after treatment.

Ask your doctor for the details of your treatments so that you can make arrangements for work, children, pets or other commitments.

Prepare for your first treatment

Ask your doctor how to prepare for your treatment. It may be helpful to arrive for your first treatment well-rested.

You might wish to eat a light meal beforehand in case your medications cause nausea.

Which chemotherapy drugs you’ll receive

Your doctor chooses which drugs you’ll receive based on several factors, including:

• Type of cancer
• Stage of cancer
• Overall health
• Previous cancer treatments
• Your goals and preferences

Chemotherapy drugs usage

Drugs can be given in different ways, including:

• Chemotherapy infusions

Chemotherapy is most often given as an infusion into a vein (intravenously). Drugs can be given by inserting a tube with a needle into a vein in your arm or into a device in a vein in your chest.

• Chemotherapy pills

Some drugs can be taken in pill or capsule form.

• Chemotherapy shots

Drugs can be injected with a needle, just as you would receive a shot.

• Chemotherapy creams

Creams or gels containing chemotherapy drugs can be applied to the skin to treat certain types of skin cancer.

• Chemotherapy drugs used to treat one area of the body

Drugs can be given directly to one area of the body. For instance, they can be given directly in the abdomen (intraperitoneal chemotherapy), chest cavity (intrapleural chemotherapy) or central nervous system (intrathecal chemotherapy).

It can also be given through the urethra into the bladder (intravesical chemotherapy).

• Chemotherapy is given directly to the cancer

It can be given directly to cancer or, after surgery, where cancer once was.

As an example, thin disk-shaped wafers containing drugs can be placed near a tumor during surgery.

The wafers break down over time, releasing the drugs. Drugs may also be injected into a vein or artery that directly feeds a tumor.

How often you receive chemotherapy treatments

Your doctor determines how often you’ll receive treatments based on:

• what drugs you’ll receive
• type of your cancer and
• how well your body recovers after each treatment.

The treatment schedules vary. The treatment can be continuous, or it may alternate between periods of treatment and periods of rest to let you recover.

Where you receive chemotherapy treatments

Where you’ll receive your treatments depends on your situation. They can be given in:

• An outpatient unit
• A doctor’s office
• The hospital
• At home, such as when taking your pills

After chemotherapy

Your doctor will regularly monitor the effectiveness of your treatments.

These will include imaging techniques, blood tests, and possibly more. Your doctor can adjust your treatment at any time.

 

In brief

Chemotherapy is the use of any drug to treat any disease. But to most people, it means drugs used for cancer treatment.

It’s often shortened to “chemo.” Surgery and radiation therapy remove, kill, or damage cancer cells in a certain area, but chemo can work throughout the whole body