Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment using powerful drugs to kill fast-growing cells. It’s often used to treat cancer because cancer cells grow quickly. There are many types of chemotherapy drugs. Understanding how chemotherapy works can help you prepare for treatment and make informed decisions.
Some types of cancer where chemotherapy is commonly used:
- Bone Cancer: Certain types of bone cancer, like osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, are treated with chemotherapy.
- Lung Cancer: Particularly in small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy is a primary treatment, but it is also used in non-small cell lung cancer.
- Blood Cancer: Chemotherapy is the main treatment for various blood cancers. It is used to destroy cancer cells in the blood and bone marrow. For leukemia, it helps achieve remission; for lymphoma, it is used to shrink tumors and eliminate cancer cells. In myeloma, chemotherapy helps control the disease and manage symptoms.
- Prostate Cancer: While not always the first line of treatment, chemotherapy can be used if the cancer is advanced or doesn’t respond to other treatments.
- Ovarian Cancer: Chemotherapy is typically used after surgery and may also be used before surgery to shrink tumors.
- Oral Cancer: Chemotherapy is used before surgery to shrink tumors, after surgery to eliminate remaining cancer cells, or combined with radiation therapy to enhance treatment effectiveness.
Limitations of Chemotherapy :
Chemotherapy may not always work, and even when effective, it might not completely destroy cancer. Many people with advanced cancer believe it can cure them. The blood-brain barrier limits chemotherapy’s efficacy for brain tumors. Tumor blood vessels are poorly formed, hindering drug delivery and reducing treatment effectiveness.
Summary to Chemotherapy :
- Chemotherapy uses potent drugs to target and kill fast-growing cancer cells throughout the body.
- It can effectively shrink tumors and improve survival rates, but its impact varies among individuals and cancer types.
- Common challenges include the blood-brain barrier limiting drug access to brain tumors, and tumor blood vessel abnormalities hindering effective drug delivery.
