Cancer Discussions, Cancer Treatment Options Forum - February 19th, 2010 - 4 Comments
Exactly what is chemo therapy and how is it done when a person has cancer?
My friend has cancer on her leg however not severe but could spread to her whole leg if not treated or removed.
Exactly hows is chemo therapy works because my friend said she is going to chemo therapy however i am having trouble what that really means.
Chemotherapy is a drug that is designed to kill cancerous cells in the body. there are hundreds of different chemo drugs and combination of drugs that can be used and each drug has its own set of side effects.
chemo can be given in different ways depending on which drug it is. sometimes it is given as a tablet to be taken at home, other times as an IV drip in hospital.
the general side effects of chemo are that it lowers your immune system so your friend will not be able to fight off infections as easily. it will probably make your friend very tired as well. it can often make you nauseous but the doctor can prescribe some anti sickness tablets to controll this.
sometimes it causes hair loss too – not always – depends on the drug being used.
some people get very emotional through cancer and chemo, so be there to support your friend in any way possible. I think it is very kind of you to ask such a question about your friend – you obviously do care about her. be there for her to talk to if she wants to and she will be able to tell you alot more about the specific type of treatment she will have to undergo.
I wish your friend all the very best
she is in my thoughts
Chemotherapy is a general term used to treat diseases with chemicals.
Particularly when used in treating cancer.
When treating cancer it can be administered via pills, or more commonly via an intravenous drip.
The exact combination of drugs used depends on the location of the cancer and the type of cancer cells involved.
Treatments can vary from daily pills to a monthly IV treatment with lots of other combinations in between.
In my case I had one form that was administered each day for 3 consecutive days then a break of 25 days with a second drug administered on the first of these days.
This 28 day cycle was continued for a total of 6 cycles.
Some people are on a weekly cycle, 3 weekly cycles are common.
Different drugs have different side effects including nausea, tiredness, hair loss, mouth ulcers, sensitivity to sun and lowered resistance to disease amongst others.
Your friend could suffer all, none or some combination.
Every case is different.
Chemotherapy uses chemicals to kill off cancer cells, either by a tablet or more commonly through an IV and can take place over a few months or so. Unfortunately it tends to make the person feel rather unwell and can cause them to have various side effects, eg losing their hair for one. Sometimes people have radiotherapy in conjunction with chemotherapy to target the cancer more efficiently. There is a website called http://www.chemotherapy.com which may answer some of the questions you are looking for. Be really supportive to your friend, they will need you more than ever.
Hey,how are you? chemo is a strong medicine and Dr’s used to kill all the cancer cells but and the process they kill lot’s of good cells and the immune system is so low,the patient can get any simple virus and make the person so sick the she can die,,,,my little sister had cancer before and i was so scare,to lose her,if the Cancer don’t kill you ,,,the side effects of all the medications they give to the patients
these what kill you,,we look other alternatives,, to bring her immune system up,,if you immune system is good that fights all kinds of infections,virus, even cancer cells be live me we were there
tanks God,, she is good,,very very