Chemotherapy – cancer treatment and side effects

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Chemotherapy is a medical term used for drugs that are used to treat cancerous diseases, but often a part of cancer treatment. Other cancer treatments such as surgery and radiation therapy remove or destroy a cancer cells in a specific area, but chemotherapy works throughout a patient’s body.

Hundreds of drugs can be used in treating cancer. Sometimes therapy might include only one drug at the time, but most often several drugs will be used to either stop the spread of cancer or keep it from reoccurring. This combination treatment is most effective because it reduces the chance of the cancer becoming resistant to the treatment.

Chemotherapy treatments are used with certain goals in mind. Depending on the type of cancer and the stage at the time of treatment the aim might be to completely cure the cancer, slow the cancer’s growth, or destroy cancer cells that might spread from the location of the original tumor. Chemotherapy treatments might also be used to relieve the symptoms of cancer and prolong a patient’s life for as long as possible.

Because of advances in medical care having chemotherapy treatments, doesn’t necessarily mean a long hospital stay. Even long sessions of chemotherapy can be completed at home or in an outpatient basis at a hospital or clinic. In large hospitals, many patients may have their treatment in one large room where conversation or even a television provides a distraction.

Depending on the type of cancer and the prognosis or stage of the disease a cycle of chemotherapy treatments might last several hours, a few days, or everyday for a few weeks. This type of cycle is what patients and medical staff often refer to as a “round of chemo”. The process of receiving a round of chemotherapy treatment is relatively painless. Blood might be drawn for testing, and then an IV line or lines will be started. If necessary because of prolonged treatment or chronic form of the disease a ‘port’ or a catheter type line will be surgically inserted so multiple needle ‘jabs” will no longer be necessary.

Chemotherapy treatments sometimes cause side effects. A patient should talk with their doctor about what kind of side effects they might experience, and measures can be taken to alleviate these symptoms.

Different types of chemotherapy treatments include the use of various chemo drugs to treat different stages of cancerous growth. Depending on the drugs’ target base, duration and way of administration most types of chemotherapy are used to shrink or slow growth of tumours, which can then be removed by surgery after the treatment.

Chemotherapy treatment is also done after surgery, so that any dangerous and cancerous cells which have not been removed, during surgery are destroyed effectively.  This is to make sure that the cancer does not come back. This type of chemotherapy is also done when you need to slow down the cancer’s progress, when it is in its advanced stage, and to shrink the cancerous tumour.

It is the job of your oncologist to plan the type of chemotherapy treatment, which is best for you. Some people insist upon having radiotherapy done at the same time as they are undergoing chemotherapy.  This is quite effective in some tumours, then having it exposed to the same treatment separately.

One common type of chemotherapy is done to slow down the progress of the spreading disease and trying to keep the body alive for as long as possible.  This chemotherapy treatment is known as palliative chemotherapy.

To treat dreadful diseases like leukaemia, chemotherapy is done as a high-dose treatment.  The side effect of this type of chemotherapy is that many of the body’s immunity system cells get destroyed and that is why you need transplantation of bone marrow, so that all the cell tissue which has been destroyed because of the strong drugs is replaced.
There are a number of things which are deciding factors upon the type of the drugs to be used in chemotherapy treatment.

These factors are — your health, where did the cancer start, did or did not spread to the other parts of the body and the type of cancer. A continuous body monitoring is done during chemotherapy treatments, which include scans, blood tests, x-rays and urine tests.

Below is the short list of types of chemotherapy:

Alkylating agents are cell-cycle non-specific types of chemotherapy and most  effective in the resting phase of the cell.  Common names: Carboplatin, Cisplatin, and Oxaliplatin, Carmustine, Lomustine and Streptozocin.

Plant alkaloids are another common types of chemotherapy drugs that sourced from certain kinds of plants. These types of chemotherapy agents are cell-cycle specific which means the cells are targeted during various phases of division. Common names: Paclitaxel, Docetaxel, Vincristine, Vinblastine and Vinorelbine

Another types of chemotherapy medication are antitumor antibiotics which are produced of natural products that are byproduct of certain species of the soil fungus Streptomyces.  These types of chemotherapy drugs are active during multiple phases of the cell cycle and are classified as cell-cycle specific.  Common names: Doxorubicin, Daunorubicin, Epirubicin, Mitoxantrone, and Idarubicin

Toposiomerase inhibitors are another common types of chemotherapy medications that meddle with the action of topoisomerase enzymes aka topoisomerase I and II.  While chemo treatments are in progress, topoisomerase enzymes take over the control of the structure of DNA necessary for replication. Common names: Topoisomerase I inhibitors such as  Ironotecan, topotecan and Topoisomerase II inhibitors such as Amsacrine, etoposide, etoposide phosphate, teniposide.

Chemotherapy is one of the most effective measures in treating cancer patients. Sometimes it alone can be used to cure some types of cancer. Chemotherapy works well when it’s used in combination of several chemotherapy drugs. During chemotherapy the medicine is swallowed or injected through the veins of patient.

Under chemotherapy the drugs not only target the affected part but also help to eliminate the cancerous cells present anywhere else inside the body.

There are many kinds of chemotherapy drugs that are available in the market and their combination is widely advised as one of the more effective ways to get rid of cancerous cells. This sort of combination of several drugs can fight cancer cells in different ways making cancer cells ineffective or reducing their growth.

Since cancer is uncontrolled production of cells in the body the chemotherapy tries reducing or even stopping that damage by stopping the aggressive growth of the cells and slowing down their capacity to multiply and increase in number. Chemotherapy is given in several sessions depending upon the type and growth of cancer inside the body.

Main chemotherapy features

•    It stops the cancer cells from multiplying and increasing
•    Assists the immune system for self defense.
•    Initiates the growth of essential enzymes in the body.

Each session of chemotherapy is aimed to work in a different perspective to eliminate cancer. Often, combination chemotherapy is preferred so that cancerous cells are attacked in more effectively because each medicine has its own strengths and perform in its own manner. In an early stage, chemotherapy attempts to reduce the amount of cancer cells because it does not allow the cells to multiply.

There can be cases where chemotherapy drugs may alter the normal functioning of healthy cells present in that area. The harm to the healthy cells can be from mild to severe and the side effects should go away once the chemotherapy is over.

Your doctor might advise you for additional chemotherapy even after a tumour had been remove, since surgery alone sometimes not enough to allocate the presence of cancer causing cluster in other parts of the body. These small clusters of cancer cells have sufficient nutrients and enzymes which allow them to grow at rapid speed leading to another cancer in other part or parts of the body.

Chemotherapy uses combination of medicines so that various sensitive organs inside the body may experience less adverse reactions. Some may experience several chemotherapy side effects.
•    Mostly a person suffering from cancer looses his or her hair while being on chemotherapy treatment.
•    Bone marrow cells may be affected and can cause fatigue and increased risk of infection.
•    Skin may become dehydrated and dryness of mouth may be present.
•    A person may suffer from diarrhea, vomiting or stomach aches.