Many people these days get cancer and one of the most used treatments is chemotherapy. I will use breast cancer treatment as an example in this article.
What is chemotherapy?
It is the use of certain anti-cancer drugs which destroy the cancerous cells in the body. The aim is to nullify the cancerous cells, whilst causing minimum damage to health issues.
What types of chemotherapy exist for breast cancer?
Generally there are 2 types:
- Pre-surgery to shrink the cancer.
- Post-surgery treatment, mostly given if the doctors think there are chances of the cancer coming back.
How often do you get treatment?
Many of these treatments are given dependent on different factors, for instance the character of the tumor, the age and health of the patient, and the lymph node status. Normally the patients are outpatients, meaning they don't have to stay in the hospital every day. The total treatment lasts between 4-8 months, in which the drug is administered by injection with a few weeks rest in between each session.
What drugs are used?
There are many different drugs used to treat breast cancer. Often these drugs are also used in combination with each other to try to reduce the possibilities of side effects that can occur after the treatment.
Are there any side effects of chemotherapy?
In general, patients over 65 have increased possibilities of side effects after treatment. These side effects are mostly treated with other medicines. Most side effects only appear during treatment, and after some months will disappear.
What are the benefits?
Chemotherapy greatly reduces the risk of cancer reoccurring. Therefore, the higher chance you have of cancer reoccurring, the greater the benefit of the chemotherapy. That is not to say it is not beneficial to patients with a low chance of re-occurrence. Each case is different, so seek further advice to see how chemotherapy could be beneficial for you.
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