What is Chemotherapy/Cancer?

 Cancer You Say? 

 

I first became interested in the treatment of cancer when my mother was diagnosed with skin cancer.  She was fair complected red head who loved the beach.... so I wasn't completely shocked when I found out.  I was more so scared, because cancer is just one of those words nobody ever wants to hear in relation to a loved one.  I decided to learn more about it, starting with learning different treatments of cancer.  As a Medical Record Editor... I hear about all the new drug treatments and therapies that are out every day, and that is even more of a reason I became interested in cancer and its drug treatments.  I want to educate others on the subject of cancer and chemotherapy.  Knowledge has a way of empowering and dispelling some fears you may have.  While cancer is a serious thing.... it can be treated.  Chemotherapy is a way.... but this treatment also can be a hard thing to cope with in itself as it brings patients, family, friends, loved ones and even ourselves trials and tribulations we never thought something that is supposed to cure us would.  But, there are successful ways to cope with chemotherapy and I want to make this information available to the public.  So stay tuned... and stay strong. 

What is Chemotherapy?

Stedman's Medical Dictionary describes chemotherapy as the treatment of disease by means of chemical substances or drugs; usually used in reference to neoplastic disease. So it basically slows down the growth and/or destroys cancerous cells to keep them from reproducing and taking over the body. It is an especially popular method when surgery is used to remove cancer.  Chemotherapy is used to keep the cancer from reoccurring or coming back, giving patient's a greater chance of survival. 

Sometimes chemotherapy will consist of more than one drug that work together to fight off a cancer.  Depending on what type of cancer you have, your age, your risk factors will be the determining factors as to what type of drug you will be prescribed and if it will be combined with another type of medication.  There are many ways to administer your chemotherapy drugs.  They can be given intramuscularly in an injection, orally in a pill or liquid, or even through a catheter or port placed at various places on the body.  Like with my mother, chemotherapy agents can come in a cream that can be applied topically and is typically used when trying to treat skin cancer.