Pros And Cons Of Chemotherapy

Defining Terms

What exactly is cancer? How can it be treated? These are questions that many people have wondered when they hear of a loved one being diagnosed. Many forms of cancer treatment are widely used in today’s society, but two methods can be further discussed in more detail. It is important to know the pros and cons of each method, thus making it easier to decide which one will work best for a situation that may be encountered. The first is chemotherapy, and the many forms of chemotherapy that are used, and the different types of cancer that they are used to treat. There is also an alternative method of treatment that is highly controversial in the medical community called Laetrile. The human body is a complicated piece of art, and
The body is also mesmerizing in the fact that it can defend, and repair itself naturally without the help from outside stimulants. However, there are times when the body fails to defend itself and an example of this is when cells start grow out of control. Normal cells will divide in a natural order, and later die off when they are damaged. Cancer starts when unhealthy cells begin to grow at an abnormal rate, and begin to push out healthy cells not allowing the normal cells to grow in the area to be able to repair itself. This is when the formation of a tumor starts to begin. Although there are different types of cancers, some will grow and spread fast, and others can grow more slowly and less aggressively. Cancer cells may be able to influence the normal cells, molecules, and blood vessels that surround and feed a tumor, an area known as the
The type of drugs used is based on the type of cancer that you have and what stage a person is in or in other words how much cancer is in the body. Chemotherapy is used to help keep from the spread of cancer, cause cancerous cells to grow slower, kill cancer cells, and lessen the side effects such as pain or blockages. Chemotherapy is considered to be a systemic drug. This means that it can affect your entire body. Chemotherapy drugs are used to target rapidly growing cancer cells, but they can also affect healthy cells such as white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. White blood cells are used to help protect your body from infection, while red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body, and platelets are structures in the blood that help stop bleeding. Doctors will put their patients on a regimen or schedule out the treatment over a course of several weeks or months to allow the body time to recover between doses. Chemo drugs can be given in a pill, taken like a flu shot, or intravenously through a catheter. The type of chemo drugs, and regimen are based on the type of cancer being treated. More aggressive cancers such as sarcomas will likely yield a more aggressive therapy regimen. The goal of chemotherapy is to slow down, stop or kill the cancerous cells to where it is in a more manageable state for other forms of therapy to be more affective such as