Experts agree that for most breast cancer cases, chemotherapy is not the first treatment of choice. But for those for whom it is appropriate, it can provide effective, long term results.
Chemotherapy involves using drugs to fight off cancer. As the pharmacology industry becomes more advanced, the drugs used in chemotherapy are now safer, more targeted for specific cancer types, have a greater level of effectiveness, and also have far fewer side effects as drugs utilized in the past. Today, using a drug cocktail is typically used to curb an individual’s side effects and providing treatment that is more effective.
Chemotherapy drugs work by inhibiting the ability of a cell to divide quickly. One of the major characteristics of cancer is that cells grow quickly and out of control by dividing abnormal cells that are located within the cancerous tissue.
Usually Chemotherapy is utilized when an individual’s cancer has be advanced and requires a treatment that is more rigorous so that it more efficiently and more effectively eliminates cancerous cells. Clumps of cancer cells can grow and spread to other areas. When this occurs it is often indicative that chemotherapy should be utilized.
Cancers can come back. The causes of this is not currently understood. In some instances it could be that the original cancer was not completely eradicated. It could also be the case that the true cause that originally generated the cancerous tumor is still both active and present, causing the cancer to show itself. Whatever the reason is, Chemotherapy is typically used.
One of the major complications associated with chemotherapy is the side effects. Even though the drugs are beginning to improve, chemotherapy treatments can from time to time affect an individual’s healthy cells in addition to the ones that are cancerous.
Since some of that function is to fight disease such as the cancer itself, a double harm occurs. Radiation therapy has a similar drawback in that it compromises the immune system, which is part of what helps to fight the cancer and its effects.
Sometimes an individual will experience issues with their digestive system. Side effects might include nausea, hair loss, and even poor composition of bone marrow. Bone marrow is necessary for a lot of different functions of the body. More importantly it aids in the creation of both red and white blood cells.
Damage to heart, kidney and other organs is possible, though this is uncommon since cells in these organs don’t divide as frequently under natural circumstances. In some studies, memory and concentration loss were associated with chemotherapy treatments. Older female patients often find the reproductive cycle altered, bringing on premature menopause. ‘Female patients’ is specified here since men, too, can contract breast cancer.
The chemotherapy drugs used today are easily tolerated and more specific to cancer type than the drugs of the past. They help to cut off vessels responsible for feeding the tumors with blood, and encouraging growth in the vessel. There are many different ways chemotherapy is administered. Each patient has a regimen designed specifically for them.
Even though it is not a pleasant experience chemotherapy offers people the chance to fight agains a disease that was once always fatal. Today cancer is a disease that can be survived long term with very few long term side effects. All of this is courtesy of chemotherapy.
July 29th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
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