While chemotherapy technically refers to any type of medication, its commonly accepted use is to describe cancer drugs. There are over 100 different types of chemotherapy which are used to treat varying types of cancer. Chemotherapy can be administered in a number of different ways in the treatment of cancers, and has been an accepted method of treating tumors since the 1940's.
How Does It Work
Chemotherapy works by interrupting the process of cell reproduction. As cells reproduce, they go through five stages. At the end of the five stages, the original cell has reproduced or created an identical cell. Chemotherapy drugs work by interrupting this process at one of the stages and/or by preventing the cells access to things they need to grow. In other words, the purpose of the drugs is to prevent the reproduction of cells, since cancer cells reproduce rapidly. Unfortunately, this effect causes many of the negative side effects of chemotherapy, since the cell-destroying chemicals also prevent other frequently-reproducing cells from replicating, such as hair follicle cells and cells lining the digestive track.
How is it given
Chemotherapy can be administered in a number of different ways to treat tumors, depending on the site of the tumor, the size of the tumor, and the health and age of the patient. Some chemotherapy medications can be injected directly into a tumor. Others are infused into the abdominen, bladder, or central nervous system. Other chemotherapy must be given intravenously (injected into the blood through a vein). Finally, some chemotherapy can be given orally in pill form, or applied topically in cream form. Regardless of how it is administered, the purpose of chemotherapy is to slow or prevent the growth of tumors by stopping cancer cells from dividing and reproducing.
Dosage
Making a decision regarding the appropriate dosage of chemotherapy is very important in successfully treating tumors. High doses of chemotherapy can be very toxic. This may mean they kill a number of cancer cells and/or prevent tumor growth. However, the toxic nature of the treatments means the body needs time to recover in between treatments. Thus, high doses of chemotherapy can't be administered too frequently, and the tumor may begin to grow during periods when the body is recovering sufficiently to be healthy enough to withstand the next treatment. Lower doses of chemotherapy have fewer adverse side effects and can be given more frequently. However, these lower doses may not be as effective at killing cancer cells or preventing tumors from forming or growing.
Possible Side Effects
There are a number of long-term and short-term side effects of using chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer. The short term side effects are related to the chemotherapy's effect on other cells that reproduce often, as discussed above. Long term effects may include heart disease, an interference with the central nervous system which causes delayed reaction time and fuzzy thinking, (often referred to as "chemo brain") liver damage, and other types of cancer. Although the side effects may be severe, chemotherapy is often the most effective treatment for tumors and cancer, and the benefits are often found to outweigh the risks.
New Developments
Many new developments are available in chemotherapy, as doctors continue to research and understand how the chemotherapy drugs can be combined to effectively destroy cancer cells. The American Cancer Society suggests that the best treatment for tumors usually involves mixing different chemotherapy agents, and suggests that doctors look at past cases and clinical trials to determine the best and most effective combinations of chemotherapy medications for treating particular types of cancer.
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