Prescribe chemotherapy based on cancer tumor analysis. Types of chemotherapy. Prescription of neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Chemotherapy literally means drug treatment, as part of cancer therapy - treatment of tumor cells using cytostatic drugs. One or more medications may be recommended. There are more than 100 different drugs currently available, and the development of new cytostatic agents continues.

How optimal the chemotherapy method is for each specific case depends on many factors:

• type of cancer;
• location of the original tumor;
• degree of malignancy;
• distribution tumor process;
• general health status.

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How is chemotherapy administered?

• radiotherapy;
• surgery;
• hormone therapy;
• targeted therapy;
• a combination of any of these methods.

It is possible to carry out high-dose chemotherapy as part of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.

Basic principles of chemotherapy

This treatment destroys cells as they divide into new cells. Body tissues are made from billions of individual cells. After the growth process is completed, the body's cells stop actively dividing and multiplying. The division process is resumed if damage needs to be repaired. From one cell two are created, then from two - four, from four - eight, etc.

In cancer, cells continue to divide until a large volume is created, which becomes a tumor. Because cancer cells divide much more frequently, chemotherapy is much more likely to kill them.

Some cytotoxic drugs destroy tumor cells by damaging their control center. Other medications are interrupted chemical processes involved in cell division.

Chemotherapy drugs can enter the body in the form of intravenous injections, using droppers, tablets and capsules.

Cytostatic agents, penetrating the body, cover the entire body through the bloodstream. They are able to overtake a malignant cell almost anywhere in the body. This form of treatment is called systemic.

How chemotherapy works - its effect on the body

Cytostatic drugs damage cells during their division. At the center of every living cell is a nucleus that controls it. It contains chromosomes, which are made up of genes. These genes must be copied exactly every time a cell splits into two new ones.

Chemotherapy damages genes inside the cell nucleus. Some drugs hit at the moment of division, others - when copies of genes are created before division. Cells that are at rest - most healthy cells - will not be damaged. The patient may be prescribed a combination of chemotherapy drugs that cause damage to cells at different stages of the cell division process. Using multiple drugs increases the chance of killing more tumor cells.

The fact that chemotherapy drugs destroy dividing cells helps explain the side effects. This treatment affects healthy tissue, whose cells are constantly growing and dividing. Examples of such cells are skin, bone marrow, hair follicles, mucous membrane of the digestive system.

• Hair always continues to grow.
• The bone marrow continually produces blood cells.
• The skin and mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract do not stop renewing.

Because these tissues have cells that are constantly dividing, they can be damaged by chemotherapy. But healthy cells will be replaced with new ones or restored. Most side effects go away at the end of treatment.

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Does chemotherapy help with cancer and how effective is it?

The likelihood of curing the disease with cytostatic drugs depends on the type of cancer:

• Some types of malignant tumors can be cured with chemotherapy.
• With other types of cancer, fewer people recover.

There is a high probability of recovery after chemotherapy for testicular cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

For other types of oncology, treatment with cytostatic drugs alone will not lead to complete relief from the disease. But it will be beneficial in combination with other methods of therapy. For example, for many people with breast or bowel cancer, chemotherapy after surgery reduces the risk of recurrence.

For other types of cancer, if recovery is unlikely, your doctor may suggest chemotherapy:

• to reduce the size of the tumor;
• relieve symptoms;
• increase life expectancy by controlling the progression of the disease or promoting remission.

Doctors use the term remission when talking about oncology. It means that after treatment there are no signs of cancer. There may be complete or partial remission.

Complete remission means there are no signs of the disease after scans, blood tests and other tests. Doctors also call this condition complete response.

Partial remission indicates that some of the pathological cells are preserved. The tumor has shrunk but can be detected by scanning. Treatment can stop the progression of the disease or reduce the size of the tumor.

Doctors use another term - stable disease when the tumor remains the same size or has increased slightly.

Chemotherapy prescription

1. To reduce the volume of a tumor before surgery or radiation.
2. In order to prevent the risk of relapse after surgery or radiation therapy.
3. As monotherapy if the cancer type is sensitive to this treatment.
4. To treat metastatic cancer.

Chemotherapy may be offered before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor. Thus, less surgical intervention will be necessary, and it will be easier for the surgeon to completely remove malignant process. Shrinking the tumor through chemotherapy will also mean less radiation treatment. This treatment is called neoadjuvant. Sometimes doctors call it primary treatment.

Chemotherapy may be recommended after surgery or radiation. The main goal is to reduce the risk of the disease returning in the future - adjuvant therapy. Cytostatic drugs penetrate into all areas of the body and destroy malignant cells that have detached from the primary tumor before surgery.

Sometimes chemotherapy is scheduled at the same time as radiotherapy. The treatment is called chemoradiotherapy. Cytostatic drugs increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy, but also increase side effects.

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Your doctor may suggest chemotherapy if there is a chance that the disease may spread in the future or has already metastasized. Chemotherapy is used because it circulates throughout the body through the bloodstream. This is one of the types systemic therapy, which helps destroy tumor cells anywhere. Surgery and radiation therapy are known as local treatments because they affect a specific area.

Sometimes the abnormal cells break away from the original site and travel to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Having changed localization, they develop into new tumors - secondary foci or metastases. Chemotherapy drugs travel throughout the body, destroying any malignant cells that have spread.

The choice of drugs is determined by the type of malignant tumor. Different cytostatic agents have been developed for different types of cancer. Thus, the chemotherapy drugs needed to treat breast cancer that has spread to the lungs will be different from the drugs intended for cancer that originated in the lungs.

Why is chemotherapy not prescribed?

Some types of cancer are very sensitive to chemotherapy, others are not. In the second case, the doctor will not recommend treatment with cytostatic agents.

In addition, you must be reasonably healthy to undergo chemotherapy. Some people worry that they are too old, but it's not about age. Older people may have other health problems that may cause serious or long-term side effects. These problems may be a contraindication to chemotherapy. This method can also put stress on organs, such as the heart. Therefore, doctors check the condition of the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver before starting treatment. Assess the benefits and risks of therapy and discuss them with the patient.

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Where does chemotherapy take place?

If the patient is prescribed chemotherapy drugs in tablets or capsules, they can be taken at home. You must visit the hospital regularly for checkups and blood tests.

When continuous, low-dose chemotherapy is required, the patient may use a portable pump. It is installed in a hospital and is the size of a small water bottle. The pump provides a constant dose of chemotherapy. You need to visit the hospital every few days to refill your pump or remove it.

Outpatient chemotherapy

Intravenous chemotherapy is carried out in a day hospital. The procedure can last from several minutes to several hours. Chemotherapy drugs can be administered through the following devices:

• Cannula – a small tube placed in a vein in the arm.
• A central catheter is placed in a vein in the neck (short-term) or chest (long-term).
• PICC line is a type of central catheter that is inserted into a vein in the arm.
• Portacath is a small device that is implanted subcutaneously in the central vein in the chest area.

You must spend several hours in the clinic. Tests precede treatment. Doctors need to see the results to make sure the therapy is safe for the patient. In addition, the solution is prepared for each patient by a pharmacist. The volume is calculated individually, depending on height, weight and general health.

Antiemetic medications may be necessary. Typically, the patient sits in a chair during treatment. If the procedure takes several hours, reading a newspaper or book is a good idea.

When therapy is required for several days and hospitalization is not needed, you can stay near the hospital, in a hotel, for example.

Chemotherapy in hospital

In certain cases, chemotherapy treatment requires a short stay in the hospital - overnight or for a few days. This may be due to the following reasons:

1. The drug must enter the body slowly and under control.
2. It is planned to administer several cytostatic agents over a period of hours.
3. Monitoring is required during treatment to determine response to medication.

If high-dose chemotherapy is prescribed, hospitalization for several weeks will be necessary. This is because the treatment is intensive and has many unwanted effects. Throughout the series after treatment there will be high risk infections for the patient. A hospital stay is important to reduce this risk.

Common names and brand names of chemotherapy drugs

Cytostatic drugs have common names - single and different brand or trade names.

For example, the original name is paracetamol, the brand name is Panadol or Calpol.

Chemotherapy drugs are manufactured by different companies, so they may have several brand names. For some cytostatics, the trade name is more common, for others it is not. Doctors can advise on this issue.

Names of combinations of chemotherapy drugs

Doctors often treat the disease with two or more drugs, and sometimes in combination with other drugs such as steroids or biological therapies. The names of the combinations are made up of the first letters of the names of the drugs - an abbreviation is used. Eg:

MIC combination

• M = Mitomycin
• I = Ifosfamide
• C = cisplatin

• C = cyclophosphamide
• H = doxorubicin
• = vincristine (Oncovin)
• P = prednisolone, steroid

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Oncological disease, or cancer, is a malignant tumor that occurs quite often. The tumor appears due to the rapid proliferation or degeneration of epithelial cells. Cancer has no boundaries. It can affect any organ, muscle and bone tissue.

The insidiousness of the disease lies in the fact that it does not begin to progress immediately, but gradually. No signs at first initial stage are not detected. Education can remain in the body for years and not make itself felt. Therefore, in most cases, chemotherapy procedures are performed in the treatment of cancer.

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a special method of treating cancer. When treatment with chemotherapy is carried out, special antitumor drugs are introduced into the body of a cancer patient, which have the ability to stop the formation of tumor cells or cause their irreversible damage and death. Chemotherapy for cancer is divided into several categories. It all depends on what stage a person has cancer.

1. Monochemotherapy. Only one drug is used.
2. Polychemotherapy. Several drugs are used at once.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a common treatment. It is mainly performed before surgical treatment. It can reduce the size of the tumor, after which it will be possible to perform surgery, but save the affected organ. Some doctors recommend not doing chemotherapy immediately after surgery, since the body is weakened. It is necessary to reschedule the operation for another date.

To understand how chemotherapy is done, you should learn how certain drugs affect the body. Special chemotherapy drugs can have a detrimental effect on cancer cells. Cells that quickly divide and do not live long begin to show sensitivity to the effects of chemotherapy drugs. In most cases, cancer drugs are administered through intravenous drips. For each patient, the chemotherapy regimen will be individual.

How to prepare for chemotherapy and what are the side effects?

Before proceeding with the initial stages of treatment, the potential patient must undergo the necessary examination. Preparation for chemotherapy is mandatory. Certain blood tests will need to be performed. Having received the test results, the treating doctor begins to make adjustments to the chemotherapy regimen. Thus, the dose will be determined medicines. In some cases, doctors decide to postpone treatment for a while.

Chemotherapy has its side effects. But if you choose between death or prolongation of life, then there is no doubt that best option- chemotherapy. To frequent side effects include the following:

1. Deterioration of general condition.
2. Constant nausea or vomiting.
3. Constant feeling of weakness.
4. Hair loss.
5. Digestive system failure.
6. Numbness of arms and legs.

If the side effects are pronounced, then you should not immediately stop the course of treatment. After a certain period of using medications, the body begins to recover.

In other cases, doctors prescribe or add another drug to a combination of existing drugs.

Basic principles of chemotherapy

There are several principles of chemotherapy. Let us indicate the most important of them. The pathogen should always be sensitive to AB. AB, in turn, should form a therapeutic concentration in the lesion. An adequate dosage regimen has its own standards (the so-called dependence) on indicators: the pathogen, the dynamic clinical course of the infection, the location of the infection.

The principles also include consideration of factors:

1. Tolerance of chemotherapy drugs.
2. How do the liver and kidneys work?
3. Patient's age and gender.
4. The severity of the patient's general condition.

If you look at the chemotherapy manual, you will definitely find contraindications to it. There are a number of factors under which chemotherapy cannot be given.

Contraindications to chemotherapy can be divided into 2 main categories:

1. Absolute (when available chronic illness kidneys, blockage of bile ducts, severe general condition of the body, presence of mental illness, ineffectiveness of treatment).
2. Relative (when there is rheumatoid arthritis, immunodeficiency syndromes, use of antiepileptic drugs, old age).

Some people undergoing chemotherapy initially discuss contraindications with their doctor. If they are not present, then a course of cancer treatment begins immediately. It is worth noting that anyone can refuse chemotherapy. It depends on the patient himself.

New methods of therapy in oncology

Targeted therapy is the last word in the treatment of cancer tumors. Treatment is based on the principles of targeted influence on basic molecular mechanisms one disease or another. This therapy differs significantly from other traditional methods of treating cancer.

It promotes destruction cancer cells, without destroying healthy tissues of the human body.

It also does not cause side effects. Targeted drugs can be used either alone or in combination with traditional ways tumor treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This method is mainly used with for preventive purposes to prevent relapses, as well as to undergo a course of treatment for metastatic types of the disease.

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In what cases is chemotherapy prescribed and types of it?

Chemotherapy is one of the methods of treating malignant neoplasms along with radiation therapy and surgical intervention.

A distinctive feature of the drugs used in the treatment of tumors is their severe toxicity. This explains that most patients cannot blindly trust the doctor, but prefer to find out in advance in what cases chemotherapy is given, what the duration of the courses is and the consequences of taking it if this particular treatment method is prescribed.

For what indications is chemotherapy prescribed?

When prescribing chemotherapy, the oncologist takes into account a number of factors: the general condition of the patient’s body, the type of tumor, its operability, localization, and prevalence in the body.

Indications for the use of chemotherapy are:

1. Oncological diseases, remission of which occurs only as a result of combination treatment, including therapy with highly toxic drugs (leukemia, hemoblastosis, some types of sarcomas and carcinomas).
2. The need to reduce the volume of an existing tumor in order to achieve its operability.
3. High risk of metastasis (used to prevent the formation of secondary lesions).
4. Damage to the lymph nodes (regardless of the volume and stage of development of the oncological process).
5. Increasing the effectiveness of radiation therapy during a high-intensity course of treatment.

Therapy with highly toxic drugs is never used in cases of cachexia (exhaustion), organic intoxication, the presence of secondary lesions in the brain and liver (due to disruption of the drug elimination process) and high concentrations of bilirubin in the blood.

Chemotherapy can be prescribed at any stage of the tumor process.

Types of chemotherapy and indications for them

Based on the direction of action, chemotherapy is classified into therapeutic (induction), postoperative (adjuvant), preoperative (neoadjuvant) and prophylactic.

Induction chemotherapy is prescribed in cases where the high sensitivity of cancer cells to antitumor drugs is confirmed and there is no need for additional methods treatment.

Also, such courses are performed in the presence of contraindications to surgery and during palliative treatment. Indications for the use of induction chemotherapy are certain types of lymphomas, leukemia, germ cell and thromphoblastic neoplasms.

Adjuvant therapy is performed after removal of the primary tumor site.

The purpose of chemotherapy courses in this group is to prevent relapse of the disease and destroy possible hidden or insignificant metastases at the time of treatment that cannot be detected using existing diagnostic methods.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, on the contrary, is carried out before surgery to inhibit tumor growth and reduce the risk of metastasis after surgery. Also, courses of preoperative therapy can be performed to reduce the tumor to resectable volumes.

At oncological diseases female reproductive system Chemotherapy is used either as the main treatment, supplemented by radiation therapy (in the initial stages of the disease), or after removal of a tumor or organ along with the tumor.

For colon cancer, adjuvant therapy is mandatory. Despite the fact that this method of treatment for this type of tumor is used only as an auxiliary method, the use of chemotherapy reduces patient mortality by 40%.

Therapy for lung cancer may include highly toxic drugs both before and after surgery.

Given the high aggressiveness of pulmonary tumors and their tendency to metastasize, in some cases chemotherapy is the only possible method treatment or relief of the patient's condition.

For liver cancer, chemotherapy can only be prescribed as a complementary or palliative treatment: the effectiveness of toxic drugs for tumors in this organ is low.

Chemotherapy regimens

As a rule, for ease of perception by patients, “chemistry” is classified not only by the classes of drugs used, but also by the colors of their solutions. There are four types of chemotherapy:

• Red. Considered the most toxic. It contains medications from the anthracycline group: idarubicin, doxorubicin, epirubicin. Red chemotherapy is often prescribed as a high-intensity induction treatment for blastomas, lymphomas, advanced cancers and leukemias.
• Yellow. Drugs in the yellow group are less toxic than anthracyclines. These include fluorouracil, methotrexate and cyclophosphamide. Yellow chemotherapy can be used to complement induction treatment with highly toxic drugs. Cyclophosphamide and fluorouracil are used in adjuvant therapy regimens together with red group drugs.
• Blue. Blue, like white (colorless) therapy, is administered only if there are certain indications - for example, high sensitivity to drugs of more toxic groups. Also, the use of gentle regimens with mitomycin and mitoxantrone is typical for the later stages of treatment, when the patient has received a full course of treatment with anthracyclines.
• White. Therapy with taxotel and taxol is the least toxic.

Most often in medical practice, polychemotherapy courses that combine drugs are used. different groups. This increases the effectiveness of treatment, but increases the number of side effects.

Polychemical regimens include AC (doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide), CAF (AC regimen supplemented with fluorouracil), FEC (cyclophosphamide, epidoxorubicin, fluorouracil). One of the monotherapeutic regimens is CMF (a combination of the main drugs of the yellow group). Yellow monotherapy can be used when there are contraindications to the administration of anthracyclines (for example, angina pectoris).

A side effect of red chemotherapy and other regimens with drugs of the anthracycline group is a sharp decline quantities immune cells and anemia, which necessitates the prescription of antibiotics and antifungal drugs in parallel with the treatment of cancer. Blue group drugs are characterized by a weakening of the effect and increased side effects of vaccines.

In addition to those indicated, drugs containing platinum can be used during chemotherapy.

Preparation and administration of chemotherapy

Before starting chemotherapy, the patient must refuse bad habits(primarily from smoking), cleanse the body of tumor decay products and medications taken, and undergo a course of treatment for exacerbations of diseases associated with oncology.

This is necessary not only to achieve maximum effect the use of anticancer drugs, but also to reduce their negative impact on the body.

During therapy it is necessary to limit physical exercise, consumption of fatty foods and caffeine. It is recommended to take vacation for the entire duration of treatment. During the entire chemotherapy cycle, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the water norm.

Immediately before chemotherapy, premedication is carried out - the administration of drugs that reduce the reaction of the mucous membrane to toxic drugs. In this way, it is possible to minimize the risk of severe nausea, vomiting and other unpleasant symptoms.

Medicines used during chemotherapy are administered intravenously, intravenously, subcutaneously, orally (in the form of tablets), intramuscularly, intraarterially, intravesically, into tumor tissues, intrathecally (in the lumbar region), intrapleurally or intraperitoneally, depending on the location of the primary and secondary tumor foci.

For heart tumors, medication can be delivered to the left ventricle through an installed catheter or into the pericardial cavity, simultaneously with its drainage.

Intracisternal administration using a reservoir implanted in the temple is used for some types of brain tumors. It is also possible to locally apply solutions and pastes (ointments) with highly toxic drugs to the surface of the affected skin.

Depending on the patient’s condition, the number of courses of therapy undergone, the drugs used and the method of their administration, treatment can take place at home (with the permission of the treating oncologist) or in a hospital.

Even if it is allowed home therapy, the first session is recommended to be carried out in a hospital setting, under the close supervision of the attending physician, who, if necessary, will adjust the prescribed course, regimen and duration of treatment.

Duration of chemotherapy

The duration of treatment is determined individually, based on the sensitivity of the tumor to the drugs and the patient’s health status. Chemotherapy is given in cycles. One cycle can last up to two weeks, and the patient can receive drugs daily, once a week, or once per cycle.

The administration of one drug can last from several hours to several days.

The interval between procedures is determined by the chosen treatment regimen, and the dosage of drugs is determined by weight and condition. excretory system(kidney, liver) of the patient and the stage of the oncological process.

The number of cycles is usually from 4 to 8. The total treatment time, therefore, averages from 3 to 8 months. In some cases, the oncologist prescribes a second course of treatment to prevent relapse; as a result, the duration of therapy increases to 1-1.5 years.

Postoperative chemotherapy is prescribed approximately one month after removal of the tumor. During treatment, tests are required to determine the sensitivity of cancer cells to the drugs involved in the regimen, and then tests for specific tumor markers are carried out to detect tumor relapses.

The harm of chemotherapy to the body is compensated by its high effectiveness against cancer. Individual selection of a course of treatment and doctor’s supervision reduce the risks of developing severe complications.

It is a pity that there has not yet been found another method of treatment for oncology, such as chemotherapy. Of course, the harm it does to the body is also colossal.

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Described methods of diagnosis, treatment, traditional medicine recipes, etc. It is not recommended to use it yourself. Be sure to consult a specialist so as not to harm your health!

Chemotherapy - what is it in oncology? Chemotherapy: reviews, photos, consequences

The World Health Organization has published data according to which malignant tumors (cancer) are among the top ten diseases leading to mortality in patients around the world. The most depressing statistics in countries with high level income: cancer lesions are second only to stroke and heart attack.

The doctor, notifying the patient about his diagnosis, immediately introduces him to treatment tactics. Depending on the form of the oncological process, surgery, radiation or chemotherapy is carried out. What is this? All treatment characteristics will be discussed below.

What is the difference between simple pharmacotherapy and chemotherapy?

If you pay attention to the traditional use of pharmacological agents, their action is aimed at eliminating the source of the disease, factors that negatively affect human life. Moreover, the purpose of such treatment is to guide the person towards a natural recovery. Chemotherapy has other goals. This is the destruction of a pathogenic formation or at least suppression of its growth and metastasis. Healthy cells of the body also experience a destructive effect, however, they quickly recover after treatment.

Most often, such an effect is aimed at combating cancer. In other cases, standard pharmacotherapy is sufficient.

Basic principles

Chemotherapy - what is it? Oncologists combine under this name the general name for the course of treatment of malignant tumors, during which the patient receives pharmacological drugs. This is a special treatment method that allows you to achieve irreversible damage and death of cancer cells.

Target pharmacological effects– suppress the metabolism of pathological cells and cause their death and complete destruction. The patient may receive treatment before, after, or instead of radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery.

Chemotherapy - what are these drugs? Currently, in the treatment of oncological diseases, regimens can be used that involve the administration of a specific drug or their combinations. The treatment method can be implemented separately or in combination with radiation and surgery.

Cancer Treatment Planning

When an oncologist develops an effective treatment plan, he takes many factors into account. The location of the tumor, the extent of the pathological process, its type and the general health of the patient are taken into account. Many patients have questions. Chemotherapy - what is it: a single treatment regimen accepted in all countries or individual plan? Doctors explain that tactics are developed individually. The dosage and name of the antitumor drug are selected separately in each specific case. For example, with cervical cancer, a completely different effect is realized than with breast cancer.

When is it appropriate to use this treatment?

Chemotherapy - what is it (the patient's photo is presented below) and when should it be prescribed? First of all, doctors decide on the introduction medications after the tumor has begun to spread widely, that is, metastases have appeared in the body. This process is characterized as the development of neoplasms in those organs that are distant from the primary pathological formation. Malignant cancer has a high tendency to metastasize. Often the doctor decides to remove the primary lesion surgically, and treat new formations with drugs - cytostatics.

Diseases for which the course is carried out:

• Some forms of leukemia.
• Acute lymphocytic leukemia.
• Malignant formations of the testicles, uterus, mammary glands, liver, and other organs - in all cases, individual chemotherapy can be implemented. What is it like for lung cancer or brain tumor? Again, a standard range of actions is provided, according to the treatment protocol.
• Lymphogranulomatosis.
• Hodgecken's disease.
• Sarcoma and others.

Actions of the oncologist

Chemotherapy - what is it, based on the type of treatment? Doctors may prescribe the following:

• Monotherapy – the patient is advised to take one drug.
• Polytherapy is sequential or simultaneous treatment with several medications.

In modern medicine, complex combinations of a number of components are most often used. This allows you to achieve the maximum treatment effect.

Chemotherapy - what is it, based on the type of treatment? Oncologists provide the following classification:

• Adjuvant – carried out after radiation exposure or surgery.
• Neoadjuvant – implemented before the start of radical treatment.
• Chemotherapy is the only treatment method. Such a plan is accepted as the main one when it is impossible to carry out surgical intervention.

In addition, immunotherapy and targeted therapy are often included in the treatment regimen. The presented areas are experiencing rapid development and will soon be developed into independent areas of oncology treatment.

The effect of medications on humans

Chemotherapy for oncology - what is it and how does it affect the body? The active substances of medications begin to interfere with the life cycle of cancer cells. They influence the features of their structure and development. Maximum sensitivity is exhibited by those pathological and healthy cells that divide quickly but live for a short period of time. That is why during treatment there is a whole range of side effects: hair roots, digestive organs, bone marrow and blood cells are affected).

Side effects

A person receiving the drug may feel constant weakness, as the level of hemoglobin in the blood drops. Due to a decrease in the level of leukocytes, the patient can suffer from various secondary infections, and he is also tormented by vomiting and diarrhea. No less often, small ulcers form on the oral mucosa and hair loss occurs.

It is worth noting that two patients with the same diagnosis can respond completely differently to the same drug. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the person: some do not experience any side effects, while others experience a full range of them. Treatment of such conditions is a very important part of the work of an oncologist.

How is the treatment implemented?

Chemotherapy for oncology - what it is and how it works healing process? As a rule, everything again depends on the individual condition of the patient; the medicinal solution is administered to the patient using a dropper, that is, intravenously. The oncologist develops a specific treatment strategy based on numerous studies and protocols created by scientists around the world.

Treatment is a course. After each stage, the patient receives rest. This is necessary to reduce side effects and restore systems and organs. Typically, the duration of the break varies from 1 to 3 weeks, after which drip administration of the medication continues (in strict accordance with the treatment protocol).

The quality of life of cancer patients is supported with the help of others medicines. A set of such measures is called accompanying therapy. Properly selected drugs can avoid the development of side effects or significantly reduce their manifestations in any type of cancer.

Before it is implemented new course the patient passes thorough examination. This helps correct chemical exposure. In addition, based on the data obtained, treatment may be postponed so that the patient can recover better.

Chemotherapy in oncology – what is it and what should the patient prepare for? General sequence actions are revealed as follows:

• Individual treatment prescription.
• Preparation of the drug in a pharmaceutical laboratory.
• Dosage calculation.
• Administration of infusions.

If the treatment protocol is not long and lasts 2-3 hours, the patient can be placed on day hospital. If he is expected to receive long-term, multi-day infusions, he will need to be admitted to the chemotherapy department. A cancer patient, thanks to modern equipment, is not limited in movement and can walk within the hospital or on its territory. After the course, the doctor may allow you to go home.

Patient Experience

Chemotherapy - what is it? Reviews about the course of treatment were as follows:

Most cancer patients note that modern drugs do not cause any pain when inserted. However, more often than usual, you feel tired and fatigued. Oncologists themselves recommend resting more time during the day and slowing down the usual rhythm of life a little. It is not contraindicated for patients to work. You just need to consult with your doctor about how many hours your work activity should take.

According to patients, fatigue is the most common side effect. To mitigate the situation, oncologists advise wisely planning your daily routine, correct mode nutrition, the patient should drink sufficient quantity liquids.

Groups of drugs used

Chemotherapy - what it is and the consequences of treatment. Oncologists divide all cytostatics into several groups. The classification is presented as follows:

• Alkylating agents, which include various nitrogen-containing drugs, Cisplatin, Melphalan, Cyclophosphamide. Such medications suppress the production of nucleic acids, which are the genetic material of cells. As a result, the division of the pathological formation stops.
• Antimetabolites. This group includes drugs - pyrimidine antagonists, folic acid, purina. Chemotherapy uses Methotrexate, Fluorouracil, Thioguanine. Their active substances metabolites are removed from cells - metabolic products, which causes the cessation of division.
• Drugs that inhibit cell mitosis. These are taxanes and vinca alkaloids that inhibit division cancerous tumor. The growth of pathological formations stops.
• Antibiotics. Some drugs with antibiotic action can suppress the growth of malignant tumors. As a rule, the treatment protocol includes Doxorubomycin and Mitomycin.
• Enzymes. A substance such as L-asparaginase suppresses the growth of cancer cells.

Colors and cancer treatment

The drugs included in the treatment plan help destroy cancer cells. In pathological formations, the internal structure and ability to divide are disrupted. However, during the course, healthy cells also die. To destroy cancer, medications are used, which are conventionally divided by color:

• Red chemotherapy. What it is? This is a course in which the treatment plan includes drugs such as Doxorubicin, Idarubicin, Epirubicin. When a patient undergoes treatment, his immune potential deteriorates significantly.
• Yellow - such drugs as Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, Fluorouracil are used. Most patients experience less severe side effects.
• White chemotherapy - what is it? The treatment protocol is supplemented with drugs such as Taxol and Taxotel.

Consequences of treatment

Statistics show that it is difficult to achieve a complete cure for cancer using chemotherapy. Only a small proportion of patients turn out to be healthy. Usually requires involvement additional ways effects such as surgery or radiation therapy.

However, drug treatment significantly increases the chances of success. Cytostatics enhance the effectiveness of others therapeutic measures. The patient experiences much less suffering and his life is significantly prolonged.

Complications

According to reviews from most cancer patients, in addition to high fatigue, a whole range of other complications can be observed. This group includes the following symptoms:

• Alopecia is hair loss (the occurrence depends on the type of medication used).
• Lesions of the throat and oral cavity. The complication manifests itself as difficulty swallowing, a burning sensation in the larynx, and the development of stomatitis.
• Vomiting and changes in appetite do not develop in all patients, which depends on the individual characteristics of the body.
• Constipation/diarrhea. Those patients who suffered from similar phenomena before starting treatment have a predisposition.
• Changes in the composition of blood and bone marrow. During treatment, a person’s immunity deteriorates and he begins to suffer from infectious diseases.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the success of any therapy depends on the mood of the patient himself. If he is focused on success and thinks in a positive way, he will definitely cope with cancer.

4 chemotherapy for cancer

4 Chemotherapy is a common prescription for cancer. The number 4 indicates the number of courses of administration of anticancer drugs.

How 4 chemotherapy treatments affect your health

The side effects that come with taking chemotherapy are quite difficult to tolerate. Therefore, many patients are concerned, if 4 chemotherapy treatments are prescribed, what does this mean, what course are they taking at this stage? The oncologist must tell you what the consequences will be for the body, how bad your health will be. What determines the severity of side effects:

1. The patient's health status, age and ability to regenerate. Chemotherapy drugs affect all metabolic processes in the body. To compensate for this negative impact, 4 courses are conducted intermittently. During the break between courses, the liver and kidneys restore the damage received, the mucous membrane heals, and the blood composition normalizes. The duration of the break between courses is selected individually, based on the test results. Typically the break ranges from 1 to 6 weeks. Patients over 65 years of age are more difficult to tolerate 4 stages of chemotherapy than younger ones. For liver or kidney cancer, the course of treatment takes place in an inpatient department to monitor the patient’s well-being around the clock. If necessary, a course of hardware blood purification is carried out.
2. Recovery course protocol. Antitumor drugs include more than 10 classes of drugs, each of which has its own characteristics pharmacological action. A protocol is a document that specifies the specific names of chemotherapy drugs, the dosage and the optimal duration of the course of treatment at a given stage of chemotherapy. If the protocol includes highly toxic drugs, a long recovery period will be required after 4 chemotherapy treatments.
3. The degree of cancer. Cancer weakens the immune system, interferes with its functioning internal organs, causes serious damage to the body. Often, oncologists refuse chemotherapy for stage 4 cancer because the patient is simply unable to tolerate the toxic effects of the drug.

Chemotherapy is used as an independent type of treatment or as part of complex therapy, together with radiation therapy or surgery.

How 4 chemotherapy treatments are carried out in a hospital, cost and reviews

The term "extension" is used to describe the size, growth rate, and blood supply of a tumor. Assessing the prevalence of the oncological process allows you to chart a course for recovery, select the optimal protocol, and monitor the dynamics of changes. In a patient's medical record, the stage of cancer is described using the TNM system, where:

• the letter T indicates the main tumor;
• N – nearby metastases;
• M – distant metastases.

Each letter has an index, from 0 to 4, where 0 indicates the confirmed absence of a tumor or metastasis, 4 is the highest degree of prevalence. With a well-chosen protocol, IV chemotherapy interferes with the oncological process. Data about these changes are also reflected in the course assignment map. There are 3 types of changes that the 4 chemotherapy treatments cause:

1. Recovery. Complete disappearance of metastases, rapid reduction of the underlying cancerous tumor. In some cases, 4 chemotherapy treatments cause accelerated destruction of malignant cells. Tumor decay syndrome is accompanied by severe intoxication and can pose a threat to human life. With rapid positive dynamics, the patient is hospitalized to monitor the condition and provide a course of medical care.
2. Partial remission. TNM indices decrease to 0-1, tumor prevalence decreases. For some types of cancer, such as breast cancer, these are the changes your oncologist expects. If 4 chemotherapy treatments are given for breast cancer, partial remission gradually turns into complete.
3. Stabilization. If the malignant cells do not respond to 4 chemotherapy treatments, no change in the extent of the cancer occurs. In this case, the oncologist can prescribe additional courses of chemotherapy, change the protocol, or add radiation therapy.
4. Unfavorable changes. Unpredictable dynamics represent a major challenge in cancer therapy. If the oncologist sees tumor growth after 4 chemotherapy treatments, what is next prescribed to the patient: change of protocol, radiation therapy, experimental treatment. One of the promising experimental directions today is gene therapy. Destroying cancer cells with modified viral agents increases the effectiveness of 4 chemotherapy treatments.

Dosage adjustments and protocols for 4 chemotherapy treatments are carried out based on the results of examinations. So that the oncologist can quickly make a decision, each person regularly takes blood tests and more specific tests, undergoes ultrasound, CT or MRI.

BRIEFLY:

Chemotherapy suppresses the immune system; and cancer grows and metastasizes when the body's natural immune powers are suppressed. This is precisely the main harm of chemotherapy. Cancer survival is directly related to how strong the body's immune system is.

Therefore, when treating oncology, the immune system must be strengthened, not suppressed. Only with a fully functioning immune system can cancer be cured and prevented.

. It saturates cells with toxins, which deactivate critical respiratory enzymes. When normal cells are exposed to this, they are more likely to become cancerous.

That's why .

MORE:

It may come as a surprise to you, but there is no scientific evidence that chemotherapy cures cancer or prolongs the life of cancer patients.

Chemotherapy can only TEMPORARILY reduce the size of a tumor, but cannot cure it or cure the cancer itself.

A tumor is not cancer, it is a symptom of it. Treating a symptom without curing it means wasting time and waiting for a relapse.

According to a study conducted by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, published in the journal Clinical Oncology in 2004 and assessing chemotherapy clinical trial data over the past 20 years, the effect of chemotherapy on 5-year survival in America was 2.1% (154,971 patients). ), and in Australia 2.3% (72,964 patients).

That is, research suggests that Chemotherapy doesn't work 98% of the time. And this is data for America and Australia, countries in which oncology treatment is considered the best and most advanced in the world.

It has also been proven that chemotherapy does not work in cases where the cancer has spread throughout the body (that is, when there are metastases).

Statistics show that a person who has undergone chemotherapy lives much shorter than someone who has not been treated for cancer at all. Chemotherapy kills people before cancer does.

If you have had chemotherapy, you definitely need to get rid of it. Otherwise, the toxins from chemotherapy will “sit” in your body and poison you and your health for the rest of your life.

The effectiveness of chemotherapy in treating oncology is indicated only by those studies that are sponsored by manufacturers of chemotherapy drugs.There are no studies done by independent parties with no financial stake or involvement in the results that support its effectiveness in treating cancer.

Do not forget that medicine is a business that brings in more money than war. The cost of chemotherapy drugs is high and a lot of money is made from them.

Interestingly, chemotherapy drugs were originally derived from nitroyprite (nitrogen mustard) or, as it is also called, “mustard gas,” that is, the deadly gas used to kill people in the gas chambers during World War II. No one survived the gas chambers. And this gas did not cure anyone. However, doctors noticed that this gas slowed down the growth of fast-growing tissues and reduced white blood cells, so they decided to use it in oncology. One of the first to produce chemotherapy drugs was the now well-known company Bayer, which was retrained as a pharmaceutical company - the same one that initially produced mustard gas for the Nazis, who killed people in gas chambers.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that reducing a tumor in size and curing cancer are two completely different things. Why go through the suffering and side effects of chemotherapy if it cannot cure cancer?

Do you think a lot has changed since the war, and chemotherapy has become more “advanced”? Unfortunately, it is not.

When a doctor says that chemotherapy is effective, this does not mean that it cures cancer. This just means that it TEMPORARILY reduces the size of the tumor. What will you do then, when the tumor begins to grow again and more aggressively than before the “treatment” with chemotherapy, when the body’s immune forces are already completely destroyed?

What do doctors call “cure cancer”? In the world of doctors, this means that after diagnosis a person lived for another 5 years. Is this the same thing as a common person What does the word “cure” mean? If a person lived for 5 years and died a day later, no one cares anymore. As well as the significantly decreased quality of life of patients after undergoing chemotherapy. Thus, the statistics are greatly distorted and the percentage of cured people is artificially inflated.

How else does medicine manipulate statistics? Thanks to technology, cancer is now often detected at earlier stages. Thus, the 5-year “survival” period includes more people, which allows us to talk about an “increase in the effectiveness of treatment” of malignant tumors. Why is the 5-year mark taken as the basis? Because then the statistics of survivors drops sharply and it is no longer possible to talk about any treatment results.

To date, enough statistical and scientific data have been collected that the harm of chemotherapy is too serious to think about. alternative methods oncology treatments practiced in many clinics around the world.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE HARM FROM CHEMOTHERAPY?

1. Scientists have discovered that by temporarily shrinking tumors but not curing them, chemotherapy causes cancer cells to spread into the blood and other organs.

The journal Science Translation Medicine published a study that provides information on how Chemotherapy can cause cancer to come back and more aggressive species tumors. While chemotherapy works to temporarily shrink the primary tumor, it provokes the spread of cancer cells to other organs.

Researchers studied the effects of chemotherapy drugs on breast cancer patients and found that the drugs increased the likelihood of cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

1. Chemotherapy causes damage to healthy cells, which causes them to release a protein that supports further tumor growth and causes resistance to treatment.

Researchers looked at the effects of chemotherapy on tissue collected from men with cancer prostate gland, and found “evidence of DNA damage” in healthy cells after treatment. Chemotherapy works by suppressing the proliferation of rapidly dividing cells. Healthy cells damaged by chemotherapy secrete more of a protein called WNT16B, which increases the survival of cancer cells. "The increase in WNT16B was completely unexpected," study co-author Peter Nelson of Research Center Fred Hutchinson's Cancer Center in Seattle. The protein was picked up by tumor cells adjacent to damaged healthy cells. “WNT16B, when secreted, interacts with neighboring tumor cells and causes them to grow, multiply and, importantly, resist subsequent treatment,” Nelson said. When cancer is treated with chemotherapy, tumors often respond well at first, but they also often grow back and become resistant to further chemotherapy. Research shows that the rate of cancer cell recovery between chemotherapy courses increases. “Our results suggest that damage responses in benign cells... may directly contribute to enhanced tumor growth kinetics,” the team wrote.

The researchers said they confirmed their results with breast and ovarian cancer tumors.

1. Chemotherapy causes long-term damage to the immune system in patients.

The harm of chemotherapy is that it reduces the level of key immune cells in patients for up to at least nine months after treatment, leaving them vulnerable to potentially life-threatening viral and bacterial infections. Some cells do not recover even after 9 months and remain weak and susceptible to viruses. This is why people often die from the side effects of chemotherapy. Since it kills the immune system, a person becomes infected and his body is unable to resist it.

1. Chemotherapy is very toxic to the body, it is a poison and a carcinogen that is enough to give you cases of recurring cancer.

Chemotherapy drugs say on the packaging that they are a carcinogen. Carcinogen is a substance that leads to the development of cancer in the body. How can you cure the body of cancer if, during the “treatment” process, an additional substance is poured into it in huge quantities, it has been proven cancer-causing? This is another harm of chemotherapy.

Patients often die from chemotherapy simply because their organs cannot withstand its toxicity. Their heart, liver or kidneys are failing.

The dangers of chemotherapy drugs are well reflected in the guidelines that medical clinics give to their nurses (in the USA). They warn nurses who prepare medications to administer to patients that they are at "significant risk" of skin damage, reproductive abnormalities, hematological (circulatory) system problems, liver and chromosome damage. Nurses are also instructed to “never eat, drink, smoke, or apply cosmetics in the medication preparation area.” (excerpted from Questioning Chemotherapy, Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D., Equinox Press, 2000).

1. There is no chemotherapy that does not kill healthy cells.

Chemistry is aimed at suppressing cell reproduction, but healthy cells and tissues also reproduce, and this process affects them too. For example, spinal cord, which, among other things, produces white blood cells necessary for immunity, the mucous membranes of the intestinal wall and hair follicles. They are seriously damaged by chemotherapy toxins, resulting in decreased immune function, nausea, vomiting, intestinal bleeding, mouth ulcers and hair loss. Patients report memory loss and children have learning difficulties. There are also many cases of damage to the heart, lungs and kidneys, and a significant number of infections. This is another harm of chemotherapy.

1. There is a lot of innovation in the production of chemotherapy drugs, but this is driven entirely by commercial reasons.

All chemotherapy drugs are very expensive and this is very profitable business for pharmaceutical companies. In America, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approves new chemotherapy drugs if, during testing, they were able to reduce tumors by 50% for a period of 28 days. Even if the tumor begins to grow aggressively again after 28 days, the FDA still calls the drug a success and allows it to go on the market. Isn’t this a deception of cancer patients who are given false hope, and go through so much suffering from taking these drugs?

1. In America alone, the oncology business brings in 200 billion dollars annually (!).

In 2010, chemotherapy drugs alone brought in $75 billion in the United States (!). In Russia, oncology treatment is also very expensive, but often the state, charities and foundations bear the costs. They pay out of their own pockets to buy needed drugs, from which pharmaceutical companies, government officials and other stakeholders involved in the purchases benefit.

1. Chemotherapy has been proven to help only in cases of several extreme rare species cancer.

This is pregnancy cancer (choriocarcinoma - cancer of the embryo), Burkitt's lymphoma, which exists mainly in certain areas of Africa, childhood leukemia, and cancer of the genital organs. In such common types as breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer, statistics show that the results of chemotherapy are more than modest.

RESEARCH

• A 2009 Cancer Cell study found that anticancer drugs such as Avastin and Erbitux promote the development of metastases. The drug Taxol (a chemotherapy drug) promotes the growth of cancer cells. If you are given Taxol before surgery to shrink a tumor, the number of circulating tumor cells in your body increases by 10,000 times.
• Scientific American, June 25, 2010, found that opioid painkillers stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body. Morphine causes cancer cells to multiply faster and speeds up the development of new blood vessels needed for tumors to grow. Patients who are not given morphine live longer.
• Dr. John Diamond (NCI Journal) – “ A study of 10,000 patients shows very clearly that The claim that chemotherapy works well for Hodgkins lymphoma is false. Patients who have undergone chemotherapy are 14 times more likely to develop leukemia, and 6 times more likely to develop cancers of bones, joints, and soft tissues compared to patients who have not undergone chemotherapy. The March 21, 1996 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine reported that children successfully treated for Hodgkins lymphoma were 18 times more likely to have recurrent malignancies later in life. Girls have a 35% chance of developing breast cancer by age 40, which is 75 times higher than the average. Four years after treatment, the risk of developing leukemia increases significantly and this risk stops increasing only 14 years after treatment, but the risk of developing tumors remains at 30% for 30 years.
• The McGill Center in Montreal (cancer center) conducted a study of 64 oncologists who were asked what they would do if they were diagnosed with cancer. 58 of them said that they would not use chemotherapy either for themselves or for relatives, because it does not bring results and is very toxic .
• The Seattle Times in 2010, July 10 edition, reported: “Danish epidemiologists used data from reported cancer cases from the 1940s to the late 1980s and were the first to note the significantly higher risk of leukemia among nurses, and later, among doctors. This means that chemotherapy is so carcinogenic that even the doctors and nurses who administer it to patients are at increased risk of cancer.
• Another study of more than 92,000 nurses found an increased incidence of breast cancer. thyroid gland, nervous system and brain cancer.
• Another study conducted by the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control) lasted for 10 years and had the largest sample. It confirmed that chemotherapy is highly contaminating in the workplaces in which it is administered, and in some cases is still found in the urine of the people who administered it to patients (decades later!).”

WHAT DOCTORS SAY

• Dr. Allen Levine: “Most cancer patients die from chemotherapy. Chemotherapy does not reduce breast cancer, colon cancer, or lung cancer. This fact was documented ten years ago, but doctors still use chemotherapy.”
• Dr. Alan S. Neeson, former president of the American Chemical Society: “As a chemist who was trained to use statistics, I cannot understand why doctors ignore the clear evidence that chemotherapy does very, very, very much harm.”
• Dr. Ralph Moss: “The strangest thing about chemotherapy is that these drugs themselves are carcinogens and cause cancer. And this is an indisputable fact. If you look at whether there is a life extension from using this drug, you will find all sorts of manipulations with statistics. There is no evidence that chemotherapy prolongs life, and the biggest lie about chemotherapy is that there is a correlation between shrinking tumors and prolonging a patient's life when it comes to chemotherapy."
• In The topic of Cancer: When the Killing has to Stop, Dick Richards cites the results of several autopsy studies in which patients died from chemotherapy before their tumors grew to a size that could kill them.

CONCLUSIONS

Chemotherapy suppresses the immune system; and cancer grows and metastasizes when the body's natural immune powers are suppressed. This is precisely the main harm of chemotherapy. Cancer survival is directly related to how strong the body's immune system is.

Therefore, when treating oncology, the immune system must be strengthened, not suppressed. Only with a fully functioning immune system can cancer be cured and prevented.

Remember that a cell becomes cancerous when it receives little or no oxygen. (Otto Warburg received the Nobel Prize for this discovery).

Chemotherapy is also harmful because it greatly reduces the level of oxygen in the blood. She saturates cells with toxins that deactivate critical respiratory enzymes. When normal cells are exposed to this, they are more likely to become cancerous.

That's why chemotherapy increases the risk of developing new or recurring cancers, and these cancers are often more aggressive. If you have had chemotherapy, you will need to undergo a detoxification process to rid your body of toxins and carcinogens from chemotherapy.

In order to cure cancer, it is necessary to radically change your lifestyle in order to create an environment in the body in which cancer cannot develop. Cancer cannot develop in a healthy body. You were sick for ten years before cancer appeared in your body. Cancer is the result of your diseased body. Read the article and remove as much as possible from your life everything that leads to it. Without removing the cause of cancer, you cannot cure it.

, alkalize it, eliminate the deficiency that led to your cancer, drink. You can also get a FREE consultation on all these issues by contacting us through the form in the section.

Valery Zolotov

Reading time: 7 minutes

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Cancer is very serious illness which requires extremely aggressive treatment. Unfortunately, even with the modern level of medicine, this disease cannot always be cured, especially when the malignant tumor metastasizes.

Many patients diagnosed with cancer wonder whether chemotherapy is needed if there is no metastasis. Today we will answer this question in more detail. To answer the question most fully, it is necessary to understand when they occur and how they are treated, as well as describe in detail what chemotherapy is.

Metastases

These are secondary cancers that are characteristic of the third stage of development of the disease. It is on this basis that the stage is determined. They can be transmitted from organ to organ, through lymph or blood, occurring even in organs distant from the source of the disease.

Treatment of metastases is not very different from therapy in the case of the primary focus of the disease. Treatment methods:

1. immunotherapy;
2. irradiation;
3. chemotherapy;
4. embolization of blood vessels inside the tumor;
5. surgical method;
6. targeted therapy.

All these treatment methods have their own characteristics and are used separately or in combination, if possible. When metastases occur, chemotherapy is used in the vast majority of cases. But what if the patient has stage 1 or 2 cancer and no metastases? Let's look at the question of what chemotherapy is.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a method of treating cancerous tumors. Its essence lies in taking medications of varying degrees of aggressiveness. But why is this type of treatment so scary for most patients?

The fact is that all medications that can cure cancer have a large number of negative consequences. These drugs are essentially poisons and kill not only atypical cells, but also healthy.

Why is chemotherapy given?

There are several reasons why doctors may prescribe this treatment:

• if chemotherapy is used as the main type of treatment, then the method is designed to completely defeat the disease;
• to slow down tumor growth and metastases and prolong the patient’s life;
• for preparation before surgery and reducing the size of the disease focus;
• to destroy atypical cells and prevent the development of metastases.

In most cases, chemotherapy is only part of the complex treatment. In some cases, it may be prescribed before surgery, in others – after. Sometimes this is generally the only treatment method that is available to the patient and doctors due to a number of restrictions on general condition health.

Action

Chemical medications prevent further development of the tumor, destroy atypical cells and restrain their pressure. Drugs can have external effects on cells or destroy them from the inside. There is also a group of drugs designed to significantly increase immunity to tumors.

As a rule, oncologists prescribe a complex consisting of a combination of various drugs. Medical practice shows that complex application different medications gives a much more effective effect. Some drugs can also be used to remove cells that have been exposed to radiation. It is for this reason that chemotherapy is often used in combination.

Types of chemotherapy for metastases

There are several types that are divided into groups. Doctors call them with Latin letters, and patients divide medications by color, so they are much easier to recognize:

Treatment process

Most often, all drugs that include chemotherapy are administered intravenously. Both droppers and ordinary injections can be used. In the first case, the administration of the drug can last up to several days. There are also alternative ways introduction of drugs into the patient’s body:

1. orally;
2. into the artery that supplies blood directly to the tumor;
3. subcutaneously;
4. intramuscularly;
5. into a tumor;
6. into spinal fluid abdominal cavity.

Methods of drug administration are also determined by the doctor himself.

Of course, the main and most important consequence of chemotherapy is the reduction of the tumor itself, slowing down its growth, returning the patient to normal activities or, at least, continuing to live. It is important to know that all chemicals that will be used during treatment have serious side effects. Therefore there will also be negative effects, and very serious ones:

Not all side effects will necessarily occur at once. These effects occur in different complexes in different patients. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the body, so there is no exact answer to the question about side effects. Some of these effects, say hair loss, may take some time to begin. Hair begins to fall out approximately 3 weeks after starting treatment. But vomiting may occur immediately.

It is important to know that chemotherapy will be used until the disease is completely defeated. If side effects occur, this will not be a reason to cancel this type of treatment. If the patient's condition worsens sharply and significantly, the attending physician will decide whether to continue therapy. The principle “choose the lesser of two evils” applies.

If you need to undergo chemotherapy, you do not need to stay in hospital. Often medications are taken on an outpatient basis. After treatment is stopped, all side effects will gradually disappear. The body will overcome them.

Features of use in various tumor locations

The complex of drugs, as well as the dosage and other characteristics of the treatment method vary greatly depending on the location of the disease:

• intestines. If the tumor is localized in, then chemotherapy is exclusively an auxiliary treatment method. This method is relevant after surgery and is necessary to prevent relapse. Treatment can be prescribed not only in a hospital setting, but also on an outpatient basis. It all depends on the patient's health condition. If the cancer was localized in the rectum, then chemotherapy can reduce mortality by 40%;
• if so, then the therapy will be systemic. The medicine is introduced into the circulatory system and affects the entire body. In some cases, doctors may prescribe the administration of drugs into the abdominal cavity;
• practically cannot be treated with this method. In this case, chemotherapy can be used at the initial stage of development. The greatest effectiveness of this treatment method was noticed if the patient did not undergo;
• if, then chemicals are used both before and after surgery. In the case of inoperable tumors, chemotherapy may be the only accessible method treatment, it will significantly prolong the patient’s life and improve its quality;
• For liver cancer, this method is not very effective. The fact is that modern drugs have little effect on atypical cells inside this organ. Recent research gives hope that chemotherapy with new drugs will be able to reach cancer with this localization;
• if, then chemotherapy is indicated exclusively after surgery and has a lot of contraindications. Therefore, doctors prescribe medications with caution.

The dosage of medications used, the duration of courses and their quantity always depend on the type and presence of metastases. Unfortunately, in many situations with this disease modern medicine is powerless, even though developments in this area are underway.

In the early stages of the disease

Why is chemotherapy needed in the early stages of the disease, even if there are no metastases? The fact is that this method of treatment is not intended to fight metastases, but to destroy all atypical cells in the body. Even if there are no metastases, according to doctors, they may be due to medical error or poor diagnosis. For this reason, this method is prescribed to prevent the development of metastases and prevent the cancer from recurring.

You should not mistakenly believe that if there is no metastasis, then the problem with cancer will be completely solved. Recurrence of a malignant tumor is a fairly common occurrence. Therefore, even if you or the doctors have no doubt that the disease has been overcome by surgery or other methods, chemotherapy will be prescribed as a preventive measure. You shouldn’t put it in the category of unnecessary.

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