All About Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that consists of a single drug or a combination of drugs to reduce the growth of cancer.
Cancer cells divide rapidly, and chemotherapy inhibits their division and propagation by damaging DNA or the signaling pathways.

The Need for Chemotherapy

It is used at different times to treat cancers:

• • Before surgery, to shrink the tumor and inhibit its propagation.
• • After the surgery, to eliminate the cancer cells left during surgery.
• • Palliative care to lessen the symptoms.

Types of Chemotherapy Treatment

• Hormone Therapy: It is used to treat cancers dependent upon hormones for growth and proliferation. The drugs consist of hormone receptor analogues.
• Immunotherapy: It consists of drugs used to elevate the immune system to recognize at downregulate cancer cells.
• Targeted Therapy: It consists of drugs that target the cancer cells without harming the normal cells.

The Duration of Chemotherapy Treatment

The duration of chemotherapy depends on the type, stage, and location of cancer.

• Short-Term Therapy: It usually extends from 3 to 6 months for early-stage cancers, the treatment cycles occur every 2 to 3 weeks.
• Long-Term Therapy: It’s the longer treatment process that extends from 6 months to years. It is used for metastatic or advanced-stage cancers.
• Maintenance Chemotherapy: It is an ongoing treatment to prevent the return of the cancer, and it lasts for several months or years.

What Are Chemotherapy Cycles?

Chemotherapy is always given in intermittent breaks to reduce side effects and maximize the effectiveness of treatment.

• Treatment Phase: The duration during which chemotherapy is administered intravenously or orally.
• Rest Phase: The break or the rest period, so that the body can regenerate or recover healthy cells.

Why Should You Not Skip Chemotherapy Cycles?

Skipping chemotherapy may pose serious consequences on patient health and treatment outcomes.

• • Reduced Treatment Outcome: Skipping the chemotherapy cycle reduces the effectiveness of treatment and its ability to kill cancer.
• • Potentiate Cancer Growth: Skipping doses increases the risk of cancer proliferation, and cancer grows again during the gap period.
• • Drug Resistance: It may increase the risk of drug resistance; the body would stop responding to the drug.
• • Prolonged Side Effects: The side effects usually fade during an intermittent period; delaying or skipping the process delays the recovery period, causing side effects to extend longer.
• • Harder to Treat Cancer: Missing doses may allow cancer to aggravate or grow, which may not be able to be controlled later.

Recovery After Chemo

The chemotherapy side-effects depend on the duration of the treatment and the type of the drug.

The short–term side effects are eliminated as soon as chemotherapy is stopped, including nausea, hair loss, and diarrhea.

Long-term side effects last from months to years, including tiredness, brain fog, numbing of feet, hands, weight gain or loss, fertility issues, heart troubles, and mood changes.

Safety Guidelines for Chemotherapy

After every chemotherapeutic cycle, the white blood cell counts fall, and the next cycle is awaited for the white blood count to recover.
If the body doesn’t recover the neutrophil count, the cycle is delayed. It constitutes almost a rest period of 7 days.

Drugs Used in Chemotherapy

• Abirakast (Abiraterone acetate): Used in hormonal therapy for castration prostate cancer.
• Indenza (Enzalutamide): A hormonal therapy drug for castration prostate cancer.
• Inlybest (Axitinib): Used in endothelial cell carcinoma of the kidney.
• Lenvakast (Lenvatinib): In thyroid, renal, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Conclusion

Chemotherapy brings effective outcomes when used judicially with strict treatment adherence. It’s the cornerstone for both curative and palliative cancer treatments.