Chemotherapy

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a type of treatment for cancer that uses medications. Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells. Normally, old or damaged cells in the body will stop dividing and die. Healthy young cells replace these cells. Cancer occurs when old or damaged cells divide and multiply uncontrollably. Cancer cells rapidly reproduce even when your body signals them to stop. Chemotherapy works by slowing or stopping these rapidly growing cells. The goal of chemotherapy can be to cure cancer, control cancer, or relieve the symptoms of cancer.

Chemotherapy, sometimes called chemo, is only one method to treat cancer. You should discuss different treatments with your doctor or healthcare provider to best understand which option is right for you. 

Types of chemotherapy

The types of chemotherapy include:

• Regional chemotherapy, which affects a specific area of your body instead of your whole body. Your doctor prescribes regional chemotherapy to target a tumor or tumors contained in just one area. It can also help decrease side effects of a large tumor, such as a tumor that presses on another body part causing pain.
• Systemic chemotherapy, which affects your entire body or system. It targets cancer cells that may have spread throughout different areas of your body.

Other procedures that may be performed

Doctors sometimes prescribe chemotherapy by itself to treat certain cancers. However, your doctor may also recommend one or more additional procedures to treat cancer. These include:

• Biological therapy (immunotherapy) boosts or stimulates your body’s immune system to help fight cancer.
• Hormonal therapy blocks the effects of hormones that stimulate growth of certain cancers. In doing this, hormonal therapy deprives cancer cells of what they need to grow. Examples of types of cancers in which hormonal therapy treatment can be used include certain breast cancers and prostate cancers.
• Laser therapy removes tumors and treat cancer symptoms with a laser.
• Photodynamic therapy combines special drugs with specific wavelengths of light. The drug, called a photosensitizer, is injected into your tumor and exposed to the light. When the light hits the drug, it produces a reaction that kills cancer cells.
• Radiation therapy uses x-ray beams or other forms of radiation to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. It targets tumors and localized cancer cells. Newer technologies allow your doctor to precisely target tumors and minimize damage to nearby healthy cells.
• Surgery can be used to remove cancerous tumors. Your doctor may also use surgery to prevent cancer by removing precancerous tissues.

Why is chemotherapy used?

Your doctor may recommend chemotherapy to treat a variety of cancers. Your doctor may use chemotherapy as:

• Adjuvant chemotherapy, to destroy cancer cells that may be left after surgery or radiation therapy
• Concomitant chemotherapy, to work together with surgery or radiation therapy and help them work better
• Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, to help shrink tumors before surgery or radiation therapy
• Relief of symptoms caused by tumors or cancer cells, such as pain
• Treatment for recurrent or metastatic cancers. Recurrent cancers are cancers that come back after being successfully treated. Metastatic cancers are cancers that have spread to other areas of the body.

How is chemotherapy given?                        

You may receive your chemotherapy through a variety of methods or devices. These include:

• Central venous catheters are thin, soft, hollow tubes, sometimes called long-lines. One end of the catheter sits in a large vein, usually in your chest. The other end remains outside your body, either outside your chest or arm. Your care team can use a catheter to give systemic chemotherapy, medications, fluids, and blood transfusions. Your care team can also take blood through a catheter.  Examples include peripherally inserted central catheters (Groshong PICC, Per-Q-Cath), midline catheters (Groshong Midline, Per-Q-Cath Midline), and tunneled central venous catheters (Broviac, Groshong, Hickman, Neostar). Your doctor places a catheter during a short outpatient surgical procedure. It remains in place until all chemotherapy sessions are completed. Your doctor will remove your catheter during another short outpatient procedure.
• Infusions slowly drip chemotherapy medication through an intravenous (IV) line. This is a form of systemic chemotherapy. Your nurse will usually put your IV line in your hand or arm. For IV infusions, your nurse will put an IV line in before each session and remove it afterward. Tell a member of your care team right away if you feel any pain or burning during an IV chemotherapy infusion.
• Implantable venous access ports are small disks made of plastic or metal. A port sits just under the skin of your chest. A catheter attached to the port runs into a large vein, usually in your chest. Your care team can use a port to give systemic chemotherapy, medications, fluids, and blood transfusions. Your care team can also take blood through a port. Examples include BardPort, Infusaport, Medi-Port, PassPort, and Port-A-Cath. Your doctor places a port during an outpatient surgical procedure. It remains in place until all chemotherapy sessions are completed. Your doctor will remove your port during another short outpatient procedure.
• Injections are shots that are a form of systemic chemotherapy. Your nurse will give you the shot either in a muscle (intramuscularly) or under your skin (subcutaneously).
• Intra-arterial chemotherapy is injected into an artery that directly feeds your tumor. It is limited to certain areas of your body. It is a regional form of chemotherapy.
• Intracavitary chemotherapy is put right into your affected body cavity. Examples include your bladder and abdominal cavity (peritoneum). It is a form of regional chemotherapy.
• Intralesional chemotherapy is injected directly into a tumor or cancerous growth. Your doctor may use this method if he or she can safely reach a tumor with a needle. It is a form of regional chemotherapy.
• Oral medications are pills, tablets, capsules or liquids that you take by mouth. They are a form of systemic chemotherapy.
• Topical medications are creams and lotions that doctors generally prescribe to treat skin cancer. They are a form of regional chemotherapy.