What you need to know about chemotherapy

 

Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses drugs that kill rapidly dividing cancer cells to prevent them from growing and making more cells. Many chemotherapy drugs have adverse effects that can be severe. However, if a doctor recommends a person have chemotherapy, this usually means that the benefits are likely to outweigh any adverse effects. An individual will often undergo chemotherapy as part of an overall treatment plan, which may also include surgery and radiation therapy. These treatments are effective in many cases of cancer. However, their effectiveness will often depend on the type and stage of cancer, among other factors. Talking with a doctor will help a person understand what to expect from chemotherapy. Read on to find out more about chemotherapy and what it involves. What is chemotherapy? Photo editing by Stephen Kelly; Glasshouse Images/ Getty Images A healthy body constantly replaces cells through a process of dividing, growing, and dying. When cancer occurs, cells reproduce uncontrollably and do not die when they should. As a part of the body produces more and more of these abnormal cells, they start to occupy the space that useful cells previously took up. Chemotherapy drugs interfere with a cancer cell’s ability to divide and reproduce. Drugs vary in how they work. Different drugs attack cancer cells at different phases in the cell life cycle. Treatment can attack rapidly dividing cells throughout the body or only specific substances or parts of cancer cells. In a chemotherapy treatment, a doctor may give a person a single drug or a combination of drugs at a time. What to expect Chemotherapy is an invasive treatment that can have severe adverse effects both during the therapy and even sometime after. This is because the drugs cannot differentiate between healthy and cancer cells and tend to target both. However, individuals with certain types of cancer who receive early chemotherapy treatment may achieve a complete cure. This makes the side effects worthwhile for many. Also, most of the unwanted symptoms go away after treatment finishes. Receiving chemotherapy can be difficult, and 1 in 4Trusted Source people with cancer have depression. A 2016 study found that depressive symptoms are common in people undergoing chemotherapy and that marital and family support help manage these symptoms. Some individuals may find it helpful to talk with a counselor about the mental and emotional aspects of cancer and chemotherapy. How long does it last? The doctor will make a plan with an individual that specifies when treatment sessions will occur and how many sessions the individual will need. A person may receive chemotherapy for a specific amount of time or for as long as it works. A course of chemotherapy treatment usually lasts 3–6 months, depending on the type of drug and stage of cancer. Doctors typically administer chemotherapy in cycles, with rest periods between 1–4 weeks. Cycles have rest periods in between to allow a person’s body to recover. An individual might have treatment on one day, followed by 1 week’s rest, then another 1-day treatment followed by a 3-week rest period, and so on. A person may repeat this schedule several times. Learn more about how long chemotherapy takes here. Blood tests Blood tests assess a person’s health and ensure that they will be able to cope with possible side effects. Liver health: The liver breaks down chemotherapy chemicals and other drugs. Overloading the liver could trigger other problems. If a blood test detects liver problems before treatment, a person may have to postpone treatment until the liver recovers. Complete blood count: Doctors will check a person’s red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), and platelet count before treatment. If these are low, a person may need to wait until they reach healthy levels before starting chemotherapy. It is essential to have regular blood tests throughout the treatment period to ensure that blood and liver functions remain as optimal as possible and to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment.

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