Chemotherapy

CHEMOTHERAPY- An Overview

Chemotherapy is a medical treatment which is used to destroy cancer cells from the body. This treatment is applied for treating different types of cancer. Anticancer are the drugs which are used in this treatment. Cancer is one of the serious disease which is caused when our body grow in a way that is uncontrolled and not normal. Chemotherapy is a medical treatment which is used for treating cancer patients and it is also used for the treatment of non-cancerous patients. As such, cancer is a disease which is of 200 types and treated with many ways with the assistance of 50 different types of Chemotherapy drugs.

Chemotherapy: How it Works?

In human body, the control in growth and death of cells are said to be a normal condition but it started changing when a person goes through cancer. At this time, the cells get divided up into more cells uncontrollable. These cancer cells are needed to destroy, so anticancer drugs are used for this purpose. The healthy cells split up speedy and got damaged. If these drugs go through blood then it can reach to cancer cells immediately. Every drug got different influence and can be used collectively. There are different methods of using chemotherapy drugs for destroying cancer cells. It will block the consequences of hormone of the body. The immune system can be enhanced with the use of biological therapy and treat substances as well. These substances combat cancer and many other diseases but merely, it is available in the body in little quantity. In laboratory, this substance can be produced so to use it to destroy cancer cells and also it can be used to vary the reaction of human body to tumor as well. It will help in destroying the cancer cells but side effects can be happened. But if this therapy succeeds then the cancer cells will vanished for permanently. At the time of this treatment, some healthy part of the body could get affected with chemotherapy drugs and those healthy parts are:-

• The bone marrow (function of this is to make blood cells)
• Lining present in our mouth
• The hair follicles
• Our digestive system

The treatment of Chemotherapy is exercised on series of sessions and every session is adopted by few rest periods. During each session, most of the cancer cells get vanished and thus the normal cells and tissues are recovered with the rest periods.

Procedure of the treatment:

This treatment is being applied for many types of cancer and based on:

• The part of body affected by cancer
• Effect of cancer on your body functions
• Your health
• Type of cancer

The treatment of Chemotherapy is obtained in cycles which depend on the development of cells and drugs and on condition it is used. On the basis of condition of the disease, the treatment of cycles proceeds from first day to many weeks. According to the type of cancer, the doctor will recommend the drugs in different forms. The time gap in each treatment will aid the body to take rest and develop healthy and new cells. Following are the examples of chemotherapy forms:

• Oral- with this form, the pills can be swallowed through mouth.
• Injection –With needle, drug is injected into a cancerous area and into muscle.
• Topical- It is used for treating localized skin cancer.
• Intravenous (IV) –During this treatment, with the help of injection, chemotherapy is injected in the vein. It allows dissemination of chemotherapy through the body.

Intravenous chemotherapy is a treatment which is applied through feeding drug in the bloodstream. Few ways are utilized to put in the chemotherapy drugs in the body and these are:-

• Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line- Here, a thin tube is put in a vein which exits in crook of arm and also threaded to vein until near to heart. This line remains in place for some months.
• Portable catheter – In it, a thin tube is employed to place vein in chest or arm. A central line- it is a thin tube which goes through the kin of the chest to vein, near heart. Because it is on the left position of the body, drugs are injected by it when it is required.
• Infusion pump- It is joined with PICC line or central line. It gives good results as such it flow right dosage of chemotherapy in the bloodstream for some days.

Side Effects of Chemotherapy:

The purpose of chemotherapy is to destroy the cancer cells and also to protect healthy cells to divide rapidly. Sometimes, there may be prospects of side effects of this treatment which would be temporary or long term. Some side effects are:-

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Loss of appetite
• Susceptibility to infection
• Changes in hearing
• Feeling sick and vomiting
• Sores of mouth (stomatitis)
• Numbness in your feet and hands
• Bleeding
• Nausea
• Tiredness
• Hair loss
• Damage of heart, nerve, lung, liver
• Fatigue
• Skin changes like dryness and discolored
• Infertility
• Swelling with pain
• Dryness of mouth and change in sense of taste
• Infertility
• Get infection easily

These are temporary side effects that depend upon the kind of drug you have taken and also depend on the time period of drug course. As your treatment ends, these side effects will stop. These side effects can be controlled by taking other medicines. Most of these side effects are common like sickness or weakness. It can be controlled with the usage of anti-emetic medicines. There are many types of side effects of using chemotherapy drugs, as such you are recommended to take advice from your doctor before taking the treatment.

Side Effects could be like- lungs and kidneys, nerve damage, problems of heart which are long term drawbacks. One another long term drawback is hemorrhagic cystitis (blood in urine).
Some diseases are also included in cancer and these are - non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease and some kind of tumors included as long term drawback. Cancer includes certain diseases like Hodgkin’s disease, non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and some types of tumors are also considered as long life side effects.

Feelings during the treatment of Chemotherapy:

The feelings of depression, anxiety and fear can be felt during the treatment of chemotherapy. It is very crucial that how do you feel physically. Some people used to gather knowledge of the disease which they are having. You should get the information and you should ask questions freely. That will be beneficial for you if you communicate with others and talk about your feelings, needs, illness and treatment of cancer. One has to be fit by mentally and physically. The treatment of chemotherapy can affects on person’s ability of listening and understanding.

At the time of treatment of chemotherapy, a person may feel listless or tired. By doing normal activities, the person can get tired sonly but this is a normal condition during the treatment. If you want to overcome it, then you need to do activities on daily basis. You should take rest after each activity. You should complete your crucial work if you get tired easily. The assistance of your relatives or siblings can be taken in your activities which will be beneficial for you. You should stay away from extra work and should conserve energy for crucial work.