Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. You may have just one chemotherapy drug or a combination of different chemotherapy drugs.

Chemotherapy drugs act on both normal and cancer multiplying cells. For this reason, in every chemotherapy treatment drugs are administered at pre-set intervals (cycles),clinical conditions; its side effects are partly the same and partly different from those caused by other therapies. to give normal cells the possibility to recover from the toxic effects which they are subject to as ”innocent victims of the war against cancer cells”. Each therapy is specific for specific types of cancer and
Chemotherapy is normally administered intravenously (i.e. through a vein). Individual administrations can last from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the type of treatment, the action mechanism of the drug being used, and the disease to be treated. In some cases, chemotherapy is administered through prolonged intravenous infusions, which last several days or weeks. Some hospitals are now giving chemotherapy orally, which can be taken at home.

 

Chemotherapy can be used alone or in combination with radiotherapy and/or surgery. Unlike the latter treatments, however, chemotherapy is generally systemic, i.e. it involves the entire body and not only part of it.

The toxic effects of radiotherapy are due because chemotherapy drugs affect all reproducing cells, both normal and cancer ones. However, thanks to new supporting therapies, the side effects of chemotherapy have been considerably reduced and are not always present, as they also significantly depend on how sensitive an individual is to the drugs used.

The side effects of chemotherapy mainly affect the organs or systems consisting of cells that multiply actively i.e.

  • the lining of the digestive system (called the mucosa) which may lead to a sore mouth or diarrhoea
  • the bone marrow (which leads to anaemia, a drop in the number of white blood cells and platelets)
  • the hair follicles (resulting in hair loss)

These side effects, including hair loss, are reversible and completely disappear at the end of the treatment.

If you have any of these side effects or are worried about the side effects of chemotherapy talk to your doctor or chemotherapy nurse.

For more information about common side effects and how to cope with them go to the Cancer side effects section, on the top menu.

Source: Nutrizioneoncologia.it