Chemotherapy

        Chemotherapy is one of the miracles of modern science. Actually, it is the only thing that gives cancer patients a change at fighting this horrible disease. Unfortunately, in some cases, it does not cure cancer, but merely makes it bearable. Also, just like any other miracle out there, it comes with a pretty hefty price tag.

       On the one hand, its price is literally through the roof because the medication involved in the chemo regimens is kind of expensive. On the other hand, chemotherapy takes a lot out of a person, sometimes making the patient sicker than they already were. However, that does not detract from the actual importance of chemo: it saves lives. In this case, the final destination does excuse the road one took to get there.

Adjuvant chemotherapy and FOLFOX chemotherapy

       Adjuvant chemotherapy is used after a surgery is performed. Usually, this type of chemo has one purpose: to destroy remaining cancer cells and to prevent the cancer from making a reappearance. Most of the time, adjuvant chemo is not a good news. It usually means that the surgery did not go as planned or that there is some possibility that the cancer has spread further into your body than the doctor originally thought. However, you must not despair since adjuvant chemo is known for its effectiveness and its rapidity.

       FOLFOX chemotherapy is part of a very special chemo group, known as treatment chemo. Just like its name implies, FOLFOX is mainly used for the treatment of certain types of cancer and not to clean up after everything is said and done. Its name derives from its active substance (also known as killer agent), fluorouracil (F) and the two other components of the regimen, folinic acid (FOL) and oxalipatin (OX).

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Chemotherapy side effects

        Just like with any other scientific breakthrough in the world, the truth about chemo is rather unconventional. For most cancer patients, it is a God send because it fulfills its scope: it kills the cancer cells that threaten the sufferers' life. But for some people, the chemotherapy side effects detract from the success of the treatment.

       Those side effects are rather immediate and pretty hard to ignore. They include vomiting, nausea, weight loss, hair loss and debilitating fatigue. On the bright side, if you do suffer from some sort of side effect, it might mean that the treatment is working properly. However, if those side effects linger or become life threatening, your oncologist might want to consider a change in chemotherapy.

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Breast cancer chemotherapy

        One of the most spread cancers in the world is breast cancer. It affects not only women, but men also and it has no preference for age, social status or health state. Basically, anyone, at any time, can suffer from it.

        Fortunately, breast cancer chemotherapy is highly effective. There are few types of cancer known today that react so well to the treatment. If the disease is discovered fairly early, the patient undergoes a number of rounds of chemo and he or she could be cancer free for the rest of their lives. There is nothing especially dangerous or painful in breast cancer chemotherapy. It presents with the same side effects as most chemo regimens and its effectiveness depends entirely on the response of the body to the drugs.

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Chemotherapy treatment

        There are several ways of categorizing chemotherapy treatment and every one of them would be correct. However, for clarity and for those that do not medical knowledge, the easiest way to explain chemotherapy treatment is by method of administration. Basically, there are three ways of administering a chemo drug to a patient:

• Orally: if the drug does not damage the mouth, esophagus and stomach.
• Topically: when the drug is a cream, used in skin cancer.
• Intravenously: if the medication needs to hit the bloodstream as soon as possible or if it is too toxic to be taken orally.

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Chemotherapy pictures

Chemotherapy regimens and chemotherapy diet

       The single most important thing about chemotherapy that every cancer patient should know is that chemotherapy comes in many shapes and forms, known as chemotherapy regimens. These regimens are, basically, different combinations of medication and of chemo cycles. Sometimes, your attending physician will try different regimens for different chemo cycles just to get a feeling as to which of them is best for you. When that dilemma is settled, the treatment can really begin.

       Alongside the right chemotherapy regimen comes the perfect chemotherapy diet. The purpose of dieting when undergoing chemo is to help your body function properly under stress. There are foods and beverages you should eat and drink and others that you should avoid at all costs.

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Oral chemotherapy and types of chemotherapy

       Oral chemotherapy is a new method of chemo. Until recently, it had not been tried because nobody thought that the drugs, famous for their toxicity, could be placed inside a capsule and ingested orally without any additional damage. In the last few years, it has been proven that certain drugs do not need the IV route for them to work just as well and, therefore, oral chemotherapy was born.

       There are many types of chemotherapy out there and only some of them are completely original. Usually, most types of chemo are derivatives of other, already efficient, chemotherapy regimens. However, they all have something in common: their purpose. All of these treatment schemes must kill cancer cells. Otherwise, they become obsolete.

Chemotherapy drugs

       You might be surprised as to how many chemotherapy drugs are out there. Hundreds upon hundreds of drugs, either completely new ones or just developed from others, each of them having very few things in common with the each other. Few commonalities, maybe. But it is those commonalities that makes them chemotherapy drugs: they destroy cancer cells, they protect healthy tissue and they boost the recovery.

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Chemotherapy port and chemotherapy radiation

       While IV administration of chemo is the most popular right now, not all intravenous methods are worth their trouble. However, a chemotherapy port really is something a patient should invest in: it is a medical device applied beneath your skin, on top of a vein, connected to the IV line through an external catheter. It does present its advantages and disadvantages, which should be discussed profoundly with your attending physician.

       Chemotherapy radiation is part of a neo - adjuvant regimen, helping to decrease the size of a tumor before the surgery. Unfortunately, radiation can also be a last line of defense. When used on terminally ill cancer patients, it does not cure, it soothes the pain.

Chemotherapy hair loss and complications

       One of the most unfortunate and degrading side effects of the cancer treatment is chemotherapy hair loss. It does not affect everyone and it could be partial. In severe cases, however, it leads to complete baldness. However, there are ways of fighting it: use a wig, a scarf or shave your head before the baldness sets in completely.

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       The chemo complications are not easy to deal with and you cannot ignore them. They start to appear from the very first round of chemo and they might seem minor at the moment, but they will intensify with the passing of time. They include nausea, vomiting, fatigue and hair loss.