Chemotherapy? What Is Chemotherapy and why?

Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of chemical drug therapy meant to destroy rapidly growing cells in the body. It is usually used for cancer, as cancer cells grow and divide faster than other cells.

Chemotherapy is often used in combination with other therapies, such as surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy. However, this depends on the stage and type of cancer, your overall health, previous cancer treatments, location of cancer cells, and your personal treatment preferences.

It is considered a systemic treatment, which means it affects the entire body.

While chemotherapy has been proven to effectively attack cancer cells, it can cause serious side effects that can severely impact your quality of life. You should weigh these side effects against the risk of not getting treatment when deciding if chemotherapy is right for you.

   Why Chemotherapy Is Used?

Chemotherapy is primarily used for three reasons:

• to lower the total number of cancer cells in your body
• to reduce the likelihood of cancer spread
• to shrink tumor size and reduce current symptoms

If you’ve undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumor—such as a lumpectomy for breast cancer—your doctor may have you undergo chemotherapy to ensure that any stray cancer cells are killed as well. (A doctor who specializes in cancer treatment is known as an oncologist.)

Chemotherapy is also used to prepare you for other treatments. It could be used to shrink a tumor so it can be surgically removed or to prepare you for radiation therapy.

In the case of late-stage cancer, when no amount of therapy can help the patient, chemotherapy may help relieve pain.

Besides treatment for cancer, chemotherapy may be used for:

• bone marrow diseases: to prepare a patient for a bone marrow stem cell treatment
• immune system disorders: doses much lower than those used to treat cancer can be used to help disorders—like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis—where the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells

   Side Effects of Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is designed to kill cells that divide quickly. While cancer cells are these kinds of cells, other cells in your body divide quickly as well. Cells in the blood, hair, skin, and lining of your intestinal tract can be adversely affected.

Because of this, side effects of chemotherapy include:

• easy bruising and excessive bleeding
• diarrhea
• dry mouth and mouth sores
• fatigue
• fever
• hair loss
• loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss
• pain from nerve damage
• infections

Your doctor can help you better manage these side effects with medications, lifestyle tips, and more.

Most side effects of chemotherapy subside when treatment is over. There is, however, the risk of long-lasting effects that may develop even years after the treatment, depending on the type of chemotherapy used.

These could include damage to the:

• heart
• kidneys
• lungs
• nerves
• reproductive organs

There is also the chance of developing a second cancer as a result of chemotherapy. Before beginning treatment, talk to your doctor about possible risks, and what symptoms you should be aware of.