Chemotherapy is more effective when it comes to cancer rather than other treatment methods. The chemotherapy treatment is combined with other types of treatment to increase the efficiency of the treatment. Going through the article will help you to understand how chemotherapy help to treat cancer.
What is chemotherapy?
A doctor who specialises in chemotherapy is known as an oncologist. Chemotherapy helps destroy the rapid growth of cells in a body. Chemotherapy is mostly combined with other various therapies like surgery, hormone therapy or radiation etc. to ensure that cancer cells don’t develop further.
Chemotherapy has a powerful effect on many patients when it comes to dealing with cancer. However, it has some bad effects as well. If you weight the side effects with chances of getting cured then, trying chemotherapy is worth it sometimes.
How chemotherapy is used to treat cancer?
Chemotherapy is administered by a chemotherapy oncologist. Chemotherapy is either given in a pill form or directly injected into the veins of a patient. Apart from that, chemotherapy can vary depending on the patient’s needs.
Other types of chemotherapy include:
- Chemotherapy also is used directly into the tumour area. For instance, if have undergone a surgery to remove a tumour then you doctor can implant discs during the surgery that dissolve slowly and releases medication over time.
- Though localized treatment chemotherapy can also be used directly into the affected area. For example, chemotherapy can be done directly on the chest area, abdomen, nervous system etc.
- There are also chemotherapy creams to treat skin cancers.
Some treatments like creams or pills can be taken in your home comfort but other methods involve visiting the hospital on a regular basis. However, if you are availing treatment from home then make sure that you don’t miss your dosage. Your chemotherapy will be customized for you and it will change if it doesn’t suit you. Fortis Cancer Institute in bannerghatta road is one of the Top Cancer Treatment Hospital in Bangalore provides cancer treatment for all types of cancers.
Possible side effects
Every kind of treatment involves some side effects. Likewise, chemotherapy also has some certain side effects because it can harm some healthy cells while destroying the cancer cells. Some possible effects of chemotherapy include:
- Due to radiation therapy, certain areas are diversely affected such as blood, hair, skin and lining of the intestinal tract etc.
- It can cause excessive bleeding or bruising.
- Chemotherapy also affects the digestive system in some cases so you can face problems like diarrhoea, vomiting, a loss of appetite, constipation, nausea, mouth sores, weight loss etc.
- Most common side effects of this treatment include fever, infections, memory problems, hair loss, concentration problems, mood swings, skin changes, insomnia, nail changes, pain from nerve damage etc.
- Some patients also face some sexual changes and fertility changes.
Cancer is a tough disease. It not only gives you mental trauma forever but also drains you physically. Not all kind of cancers are fatal, but every cancer is immensely painful. Further, the treatment procedure is very lengthy, therefore you need to stay strong.