Saturday, August 10, 2013

Effective Cancer Treatment – Chemotherapy

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Cancer is one of the most dangerous diseases that have arisen in the recent decade on a faster note. The development of cancer is so fast that it is very difficult to detect in the initial stages. The main issue with some cancer patients is that there are no symptoms in the initial stages and they live their normal life as it is, and the pain starts after the cancerous cells have spread to the lymph nodes or bones or sometimes other parts of the body.

Cancer chemotherapy is one of the most effective and successful treatments for curing cancer. The main advantage of this therapy is that it destroys the cancer cells. It is given in several doses in the form of pills or injections. Sadly, chemotherapy is followed by certain side effects, which, in certain cases, may not disappear after the treatment is over. Therefore, before undergoing chemotherapy, it is important that the patients should have strong will-power and determination to undergo this therapy. The main aim of this type of treatment is to cure and control cancer as well as ease the cancer symptoms at the earliest.

Chemotherapy can be given after or before surgery or along with radiation therapy. If given before surgery, then it is meant to shrink the size of the cancer, and if given after surgery, then it is to kill the cancer cells remaining behind after surgery, and may re-grow in the patient’s body. To be given before surgery or after surgery or along with radiation therapy depends on the condition of the patient, the extent to which the cells have spread in his / her body and his / her age.

Also, there are different types of chemotherapy , like first line chemotherapy, second line chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy and neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Again, the type of chemotherapy given to the patient depends on the above mentioned factors. This type of treatment can also be given to cease bone pain, in case the cancer has reached the bones or other parts of the body, and it is not possible to remove it by surgery or radiation treatment or kill the cells using some combination of chemotherapy drugs. This type is called palliative chemotherapy treatment.

Be it whatever type, chemotherapy has proved to be successful in killing the cancer cells, reducing the size of tumor for surgery, preventing the cells from re-growth to prevent recurrence of cancer cells and reducing bone pain, in cases where the tumor is not curable. This type of treatment, though backed with side effects, has also proved to be effective to prolong the life of the cancer patients.


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