Many of these side effects can be treated or prevented and most, if not all, will pass after treatment stops. an increased risk of getting infections.This can cause a range of unpleasant side effects, such as: Side effects of chemotherapyĪs well as killing cancer cells, chemotherapy can damage some healthy cells in your body, such as blood cells, skin cells and cells in the stomach. You'll usually have several treatment sessions, which will typically be spread over the course of a few months.

You may be treated with one type of chemotherapy medicine or a combination of different types.

chemotherapy tablets (oral chemotherapy) – this usually involves taking a course of medicine at home, with regular check-ups in hospital.

Find out about how, when and how you have it for. It is a common treatment for breast cancer.

chemotherapy given into a vein (intravenous chemotherapy) – this is usually done in hospital and involves medicine being given through a tube in a vein in your hand, arm or chest Chemotherapy uses anti cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells.

Your doctors will recommend the best type for you. Types of chemotherapyĬhemotherapy can be given in several ways. Ask your doctors about the chances of treatment being successful for you. The effectiveness of chemotherapy varies significantly.

relieve symptoms if a cure is not possible (palliative chemotherapy).

reduce the risk of the cancer coming back after radiotherapy or surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy).

make other treatments more effective – for example, it can be combined with radiotherapy (chemoradiation) or used before surgery (neo-adjuvant chemotherapy).

try to cure the cancer completely (curative chemotherapy).

When chemotherapy is usedĬhemotherapy may be used if cancer has spread or there's a risk it will. They stop cancer cells reproducing, which prevents them from growing and spreading in the body. There are many different types of chemotherapy medicine, but they all work in a similar way. We have support teams, groups, and tips for managing side effects with self-care.Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill cancer cells.

Mouth and throat inflammation and sores.

Infections due to low blood cell counts.

Changes in memory and concentration ( chemo brain).

What you feel and how severe it is depends on the kind of chemotherapy you get, the dosage, and how your body reacts. You may have just a few side effects or you might not have any. If you need long-term therapy, a central line IV makes it easier to give you chemo on a regular basis. If so, you'll need a permanent central line IV or port. Some chemo drugs can’t go through a regular IV. Sometimes we can use a small pump that gives a continuous infusion of medicine over several days or weeks. Treatment can take from several minutes to hours. You can get chemo at an infusion center, hospital, or at home. Also called infusion therapy, we insert a soft tube, or catheter, through a large vein. Usually, you get chemo drugs through an IV. Your doctor will need to weigh these factors when choosing your treatment.

The downside: Chemo can kill healthy cells, too.

The positive side: Chemo can reach and kill cancer cells growing in different parts of your body.

This has both positive and negative effects: Before surgery, to shrink a tumor (neoadjuvant therapy)Ĭhemo travels throughout your whole body.Control the growth and spread of the cancer.What Can Chemotherapy Do?Ĭhemotherapy can treat many different cancers. This is what causes many of the side effects to chemotherapy treatment. But because healthy cells also create new cells, chemotherapy can harm them, too. Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by preventing them from growing and dividing.

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