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Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Cells
grow by dividing. Chemotherapy works by damaging cancer cells
that are dividing. It travels around the body in the blood
stream, attacking cells.
The cells most affected by chemotherapy are those which divide
rapidly. This means that both cancer cells and normal cells
are affected. However, normal cells are able to renew themselves
quickly. Cancer cells recover more slowly and with more difficulty.
The rest periods between chemotherapy treatments allow your
normal cells to recover. However, as the cancer cells do not
recover, more are killed with each treatment.
Key Points
- chemotherapy can be used on its own or in combination
with surgery or radiotherapy depending on what type of cancer
it is.
- Chemotherapy is given by mouth using tablets or by injection-
most commonly into a vein through the use of an intravenous
drip
- treatment is in cycles usually lasting for several weeks
or months. You have a treatment then a period of rest before
the next treatment
- usually before each treatment you have blood tests done
to measure the levels of different types of cells in the
blood. Blood is made up of white cells (which fight infection),
red cells ( these carry oxygen from the lungs around the
body) and platelets (these help your blood clot)
- if your blood cell levels are too low, the time between
treatments may be lengthened to allow your body to get stronger
or your drugs may be changed.
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