Chemotherapy Treatment

Chemotherapy is one of the highly recommended treatment modalities for patients with cancer. It is a non-surgical procedure wherein doctors use a combination of drugs to treat cancer. Chemotherapy may not necessarily help to get rid of the tumor, however, it is highly effective in managing the symptoms and slowing down the progress of cancer. Different patients may have a different experiences with chemotherapy and the procedure may not be overwhelming for everyone. Your doctor may recommend you to go for chemotherapy alone or it may be given along with some other treatment. 

What is Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is a form of systematic medication which involves the administration of certain drugs into the bloodstream of the patient to destroy the cancer cells. Since the blood circulates throughout the body and reaches every cell, chemotherapy can be used in the treatment of nearly all forms of cancer. Doctors may recommend it as a primary treatment or it may be paired up with surgery or any other treatment. 

What is the goal of Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy can be performed for 4 different goals, depending upon the extent to which cancer has spread. These are:

• Primary treatment, which means that doctors solely use chemotherapy for destroying the malignant cells. This is often referred to as curative chemotherapy 
• Prior to the surgery, which is done to reduce the size of the tumor, making it easier to extract it surgically. This is commonly referred to as neoadjuvant chemotherapy
• Post-surgery is done for destroying any malignant cells that may have been left behind during the surgical removal. This is also known as adjuvant chemotherapy 
• To slow down the pace at which cancer progresses, which is primarily done to relieve the symptoms. This is commonly referred to as palliative chemotherapy. 

What are the different ways of giving Chemotherapy?

• Intravenously - The drugs are directly administered into the vein of the patient using an intravenous drip. The whole process takes anywhere between a couple of minutes to a few hours.
• Orally - The drugs come in edible form and are to be taken orally. These can be in the form of pills, capsules, or even syrups. Your doctors will prescribe the dosage and you can take the same at your home.
• Injections - The drugs are given in the form of shots, that are injected in the patient's arm, leg, or even abdomen.
• Intra-Arterial - The drugs are injected into the artery, where it enters the bloodstream and gets carried away to the concerned area.
• Peritoneal - The drugs are directly placed in the patient’s abdominal cavity to treat cancer in and around it.
• Topical - The drugs come in the form of creams and ointments that can be easily applied to the skin.