Some people in the forum without knowing the subject try to answer and give wrong guidance which confuse the patients further. For example the person nick-named "?" (first answer) has told something not real - has said Kemo is radiation. Such persons should answer only the known subject questions and should not confuse the affected person. You also should not be carried away by such answers.
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I am giving below what is Chemotherapy and what will happen (side effects) after the therapy, It is only the actual and general facts. It is better you consult your doctor and he is the only person can give you the exact extent of disease, its stage, grade, dosage of medicine and the ways go come out successfully from side effect etc.
Chemotherapy is the type of treatment given for cancer by injecting chemical substances. This is one type of treatement given for cancer. In its modern-day use, it refers primarily to cytotoxic drugs used to treat cancer. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells due to damage to DNA (mutations) and, occasionally, due to an inherited propensity to develop certain tumours. Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body - in other words, the body attacks its own cells. In contrast, transplant rejection happens because a normal healthy human immune system can distinguish foreign tissues and attempts to destroy them. Also the reverse situation, called graft-versus-host disease, may take place. Broadly, most chemotherapeutic drugs work by impairing mitosis (cell division), effectively targeting fast-dividing cells. As these drugs cause damage to cells they are termed cytotoxic. Some drugs cause cells to undergo apoptosis (so-called "cell suicide").
As chemotherapy affects cell division, tumors with high growth fractions (such as acute myelogenous leukemia and the lymphomas, including Hodgkin's disease) are more sensitive to chemotherapy, as a larger proportion of the targeted cells are undergoing cell division at any time.Chemotherapeutic drugs affect "younger" tumours (i.e. less differentiated) more effectively, because at a higher grade of differentiation, the propensity to growth usually decreases. Near the center of some solid tumours, cell division has effectively ceased, making them insensitive to chemotherapy. Another problem with solid tumours is the fact that the chemotherapeutic agent often does not reach the core of the tumour. Solutions to this problem include radiation therapy (both brachytherapy and teletherapy) and surgery.
Most chemotherapy is delivered intravenously, although there are a number of agents that can be administered orally (e.g. melphalan, busulfan,capecitabine). Depending on the patient, the cancer, the stage of cancer, the type of chemotherapy, and the dosage, intravenous chemotherapy may be given on either an inpatient or outpatient basis. For continuous, frequent or prolonged intravenous chemotherapy administration, various systems may be surgically inserted into the vasculature to maintain access
Combined modality chemotherapy is the use of drugs with other cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy or surgery. Most cancers are now treated in this way. Combination chemotherapy is a similar practice which involves treating a patient with a number of different drugs simultaneously. The drugs differ in their mechanism and side effects. The biggest advantage is minimising the chances of resistance developing to any one agent.
Side-effects
The treatment can be physically exhausting for the patient. Current chemotherapeutic techniques have a range of side effects mainly affecting the fast-dividing cells of the body. Important common side-effects include (dependent on the agent):
•Hair loss
•Nausea and vomiting
•Diarrhea or constipation
•Anemia
•Depression of the immune system hence (potentially lethal) infections and sepsis
•Hemorrhage
•Secondary neoplasms
•Cardiotoxicity
•Hepatotoxicity
•Nephrotoxicity
•stomach upset
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