Chemotherapy is a treatment used to kill cancer cells. It involves taking medicines that are toxic to fast-growing cells like cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is used to treat cancer. The goal is to reduce the number of cancer cells or decrease the size of tumors.
Many types of chemotherapy drugs not only damage the cancer cells but can also damage some of your normal cells. This can create side effects. Side effects will vary between chemotherapy treatments. Your doctor will review a list of possible complications for your treatment type. Some side effects of chemotherapy include:
You and your doctor will talk about options to help relieve some of these effects.
You may be asked to take some pre-medicines such as:
Your doctor will talk to you about the best route for the medicine(s). Chemotherapy drugs may be given in several ways:
This depends on the route used, the number of medicines, and the amount of each medicine. A session may be as brief as the time it takes to swallow a pill. It could also take several hours or last overnight. Some types of chemotherapy can be given as a continuous infusion through a portable pump.
The treatment may cause a number of uncomfortable side effects. The delivery of the chemotherapy usually does not hurt.
Most often, you can leave after the medicine is delivered. Some chemotherapy regimens will require a stay in the hospital. This may be about 2-3 days.
Your doctor may choose to keep you in the hospital if excessive complications arise. For example, if you have severe vomiting, you may need to be admitted to the hospital.
You may be given any of the following:
When you return home, do the following to help ensure a smooth recovery:
Your doctor may order any of the following tests to check the progress of your treatment:
After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:
In case of an emergency, call 911 .
RESOURCES:
American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/
National Cancer Institute
http://www.cancer.gov/
CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Cancer Care Ontario
http://www.cancercare.on.ca/
Canadian Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.ca/?sc_lang=en
References:
Abeloff MD. Clinical Oncology . 2nd ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone; 2000.
Chemotherapy and you. National Institutes of Health website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/chemotherapy-and-you . Updated June 2007. Accessed July 21, 2009.
Understanding chemotherapy. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/chemo-side-effects/understandingchemo . Updated November 2008. Accessed July 21, 2009.
¹10/26/2009 DynaMed Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : Adamsen L, Quist M, Andersen C, et al. Effect of a multimodal high intensity exercise intervention in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2009;339:b3410.
Last reviewed July 2010 by Mohei Abouzied, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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