Chemotherapy “Fight back with the hazardous disease”

There are many types of cancer treatment. The types of treatment that you receive will depend on the type of cancer you have and how advanced it is .Chemotherapy is a widely used treatment for cancer. The term chemotherapy refers to the drugs that prevent cancer cells from dividing and growing. Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs designed to slow or stop the growth of rapidly dividing cancer cells in the body .It does this by killing the dividing cells. A wide range of drugs is used to achieve these goals. 

The effectiveness depends to some extent on the stage of the cancer being treated. It is an invasive treatment that can have severe adverse effects. This is because the drugs often target not only cancerous cells but also healthy cells. For best results, the patient will need regular chemotherapy over a period that will be specified by the oncologist, or cancer specialist.

How Chemotherapy Is Given

1.       Oral : The chemotherapy comes in pills, capsules, or liquids that you swallow.

2.       Intravenous (IV): The chemotherapy goes directly into a vein.

3.       Injection: The chemotherapy is given by a shot in a muscle in your arm, thigh, or hip, or right under the skin in the fatty part of your arm, leg, or belly

4.       Intrathecal: The chemotherapy is injected into the space between the layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Objectives of Chemotherapy:

·        Total remission– chemotherapy alone can be undertaken in order to prevent the growth of the cancer cells. It is also called monotherapy.

·        Combination therapies: chemotherapy is performed along with other therapies such as radio therapies, in order to treat the growth of cancer cells.

·        Slowdown progression: this treatment basically comes under action when the cancer is in final stage, in the advancement stage, the growth of cells are maximum and so can be treated well. Therefore, slowdown the cancer action to get rigorous.

·        Prevention: chemotherapy when performed, is basically executed after the tumour is removed from the body.

 Benefits of Chemotherapy

• ·         Chemotherapy may shrink your cancer or slow down its growth, which can help you live longer and feel better.
• ·         After surgery, chemotherapy may reduce the chances of the cancer coming back.
• ·         You may have more regular check-ups, tests and contact with your medical team. Some people find this reassuring.
• ·         For a small number of people with borderline resectable cancer, chemotherapy may shrink the cancer enough to make surgery to remove the cancer an option
• ·         In some cases, chemotherapy completely eliminates cancer cells or tumors from the body.
• ·         It can help in preventing cancer cells from spreading from the original site to other parts of the body.
• ·         Chemotherapy is a "systemic" treatment, meaning that it works throughout the body to kill cancer cells, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Best Places for Chemotherapy:

1. Dr Kaushal Yadav Best Cancer Specialist Surgeon Stomach GI Ovarian Oral Cancer , Gurgaon Delhi India.
2. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute Kolkata, West Bengal.
3. Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, New Delhi

Side Effects:

• ·        Nausea and vomiting
• ·        Hair loss
• ·        Permanent Hearing loss
• ·        Weak Immune system
• ·        Thrombocytopenia
• ·        Anemia
• ·        Affect the body's metabolism
• ·        Can reduce fertility in men and women
• ·        Diarhea
• ·        Constipation