Chemotherapy

Treatment of cancer can take many different forms and so many options exist in the treatment of cancer.

• Surgery: where a surgeon will physically try to remove the tumour to achieve a cure or to relieve symptoms of the cancer.
• Radiotherapy: where radiation is focussed at the site and surrounding tissues of a tumour to kill the cancer cells, to achieve a cure or relieve symptoms.
• Chemotherapy: the use of anti-cancer drugs to acieve a cure or relieve symptoms.
• Hormonal Therapy

Each of these different options may be used alone or in combination with 1 or both of the other options. The approach taken will be dependant upon primarily the type of cancer being treated, how advanced the cancer is, how fit the patient is and what previous treatment the patient has received.

 

Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer using anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells. These drugs can be administered using injections or infusions directly into the bloodstream or less commonly using tablets, it is also possible to receive chemotherapy by injection into muscle or into a body cavity.

Chemotherapy works by interfering with the ability of the cancer cell to replicate, this means that the cancer will either have its growth slowed, stopped or destroyed. Different chemotherapy drugs will have activity with different cancers and more than one drug will have activity for the same cancer. In practice this means that is common for more than one drug to be used in combination. 

Adjuvant chemotherapy: this is when chemotherapy is given after surgery or radiotherapy in an attempt to erradicate any cancer cells which are left by the original therapy and so attempt to increase the chances of a cure.

Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy: is chemotherapy given before surgery or radiotherapy to make them more effective and increase the possibility of a cure.

Palliative chemotherapy: the intention here is to primarily relieve symptoms and to improve the patients quality of life.

The length of treatment can range between weeks and months. The majority of chemotherapy will be given at hospital, this can take as little as an hour or up to 4/5 days.Most chemotherapy will be given every 14-28 days and this is known as a cycle. These cycles will be repeated from 2-6 times depending how well your cancer responds to the treatment.

• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of Appetite
• Sore Mouth
• Diarrhoea/Constipation
• Tiredness/Fatigue
• Hairloss
• Bone Marrow Suppression

 

Different chemotherapy drugs will cause different side effects and individual patients will experience variations in there severity and some will not experience any severe side effects.