Chemotherapy What Is

(also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells.

How does chemotherapy work?
Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly. But it can also harm healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those that line your mouth and intestines or cause your hair to grow. Damage to healthy cells may cause side effects. Often, side effects get better or go away after chemotherapy is over.

What does chemotherapy do?
Depending on your type of cancer and how advanced it is, chemotherapy can:

Cure cancer
when chemotherapy destroys cancer cells to the point that your doctor can no longer detect them in your body and they will not grow back.

Control cancer
when chemotherapy keeps cancer from spreading, slows its growth, or destroys cancer cells that have spread to other parts of your body.

Ease cancer
symptoms (also called palliative care) – when chemotherapy shrinks tumors that are causing pain or pressure.

Your Feelings During Chemotherapy

At some point during chemotherapy, you may feel:

Anxious
Depressed
Afraid
Angry
Frustrated
Helpless
Lonely

It is normal to have a wide range of feelings while going through chemotherapy. After all, living with cancer and getting treatment can be stressful. You may also feel fatigue, which can make it harder to cope with your feelings.

Chemotherapy Side Effects

Chemotherapy is designed to kill fast-growing cancer cells. But it can also affect healthy cells that grow quickly. These include cells that line your mouth and intestines, cells in your bone marrow that make blood cells, and cells that make your hair grow. Chemotherapy causes side effects when it harms these healthy cells.

Chemotherapy is designed to kill fast-growing cancer cells. But it can also affect healthy cells that grow quickly. These include cells that line your mouth and intestines, cells in your bone marrow that make blood cells, and cells that make your hair grow. Chemotherapy causes side effects when it harms these healthy cells.

How long side effects last depends on your health and the kind of chemotherapy you get. Most side effects go away after chemotherapy is over. But sometimes it can take months or even years for them to go away.

Sometimes, chemotherapy causes long-term side effects that do not go away. These may include damage to your heart, lungs, nerves, kidneys, or reproductive organs. Some types of chemotherapy may cause a second cancer years later. Ask your doctor or nurse about your chance of having long-term side effects

 

Chemotherapy Hair Loss Treatment
publisher: JustNatural
ASIN: B001A6SVYA
EAN: 0812326010676
sales rank: 80758
price: $39.99 (new)
 

 

This organic treatment is absorbed by your hair follicles to jump start them into healthy growth. Vitamin rich nutrients from plant oils encourage faster thicker hair growth. The essential oil blend in this hair loss treatment is stimulating and nourishing for your scalp. Increases the thickness of each strand of your hair for more volume with the first use.

The Chemotherapy Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Get Through Treatment
by: Judith McKay
publisher: New Harbinger Publications, published: 2009-05-01
ASIN: 1572246219
EAN: 9781572246218
sales rank: 154110
price: $9.00 (new), $6.03 (used)

When you’re facing cancer treatment, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and alone. Between the hospital or clinic environment and the medical terminology used by doctors and health care professionals, you may feel as though you’ve entered a foreign country.

Written by two experienced oncology nurses, this compassionate and comprehensive guide explains in plain English everything you need to know about your treatment, including what you can expect at each stage of chemotherapy and what you can do to prevent or minimize side effects. Packed with practical suggestions, nutritional advice, relaxation skills, and other techniques to help strengthen your body and calm your mind, The Chemotherapy Survival Guide is a must-have resource for anyone navigating this difficult time.

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