Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs or medications to destroy cancer cells. Two terms used to describe cancer chemotherapy are antineoplastic (anti-cancer) and cytotoxic (cell-killing). Chemotherapy is often used as a systemic treatment, where the drugs travel throughout the body and can reach cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body.
Goals of chemotherapy
- Cure the cancer (tumor disappears and does not return)
- Control the cancer (stop it from growing and spreading)
- Palliation in the advanced stages (used to relieve symptoms of cancer)
Ways to take chemotherapy
- Orally (by mouth)
- Topically (on top of the skin)
- Intravenously (into the vein)
- Intramuscularly (into the muscle)
- Subcutaneously (under the skin)
- Intra-arterially (into an artery)
- Intrathecally (into the central-nervous system)
- Intrapleurally (into the chest cavity)
- Intraperitonally (into the abdominal cavity)
- Intravesically (into the bladder)
- Intralesionally (into the tumor)
Places to receive chemotherapy
- Doctor’s office
- Hospital
- Outpatient clinic
- Home
- Workplace
Side effects of chemotherapy
- Low white blood cell count with risk of infection
- Low red blood cell count with risk of fatigue, dizziness, headaches and shortness of breath
- Low platelet count with risk of bleeding gums, nose bleeds and bruising
- Hair loss
- Loss of appetite and weight
- Temporary or permanent damage of ovaries
- Yeast infections
- Nausea and vomiting
- Mouth sores
- Increased sensitivity to light