Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to treat cancerous cell. Chemotherapy has been used for many years and is one of the most common treatment for cancer. Chemotherapy works by interfering with the cancer cell's ability to grow or reproduce. Different group of drugs work in different ways to fight cancer cell. Chemotherapy is used alone for some types of cancer or in combination with other treatments such as surgery or radiation. A combination of chemotherapy drugs is used to fight a specific cancer. 

Chemotherapy can be administered:

•             As a pill to swallow
•       As an injection into the muscles or tissues.
•       Intravenously (directly to the bloodstream; also called IV).
•      Topically (applied to the skin)
•           Directly into a body cavity

·        There are over 50 chemotherapy drugs that are commonly used. Chemotherapy is the way to cure cancer by killing cell. It kills cancer cell and also can kill normal cell. But killing normal cells can cause some unpleasant side effects. The side effects vary from one drug to another drug and from patient to patient. 

The good news about these side effects is that there are some ways to ease most of the symptoms of this effect. Sometimes, certain side effects can have long lasting or permanent effects. Certain chemotherapy drugs can result in infertility or the inability to father a child which may be permanent. So, it is necessary to talk to doctor about any concerns before starting chemotherapy.