Chemotherapy

How does chemotherapy actually work?
The cells in a human body generally live grow and die the natural way. Cancer occurs when these human cells keep on dividing and growing without stopping. Chemotherapy protocol is all about destroying the cells by stopping the cells from multiplying further. Unfortunately in undergoing the chemotherapy protocols, the cells that are healthy can also be affected. Chemotherapy protocols help in the elimination of the cancer affected cells and the adverse effects that the protocols can have on the cells are also minimized. Successful protocols have been developed and the identification of different kinds of cancer has been made and protocols are developed to match them accordingly. The discussion on chemotherapy protocols is incomplete without an understanding of the additional knowledge on chemotherapy.

Cancer cells are healthy cells that can adapt themselves to the toxic environments and they continue to grow and survive because they use all the mechanisms to achieve cellular immortality. That’s the reason why cancer becomes a very difficult disease to be treated. The chemotherapy drugs only kill a specific number of cancer cells. Cancer chemotherapy could have been much more effective if the latest research and findings are incorporated into the medicines. The respected journals on cancer treatment and medicines publish a lot of articles that bring up more useful regimens yet oncologists are busy to bring up synergistic processes into the clinical practice. The objective is to provide the cancer patients with more options to have a discussion with the oncologist how different approaches have been devised to bring out successful results.

It is impossible to devise a single protocol for chemotherapy which is effective. The oncologist would have to administer chemotherapy drugs in different doses because the tumor cells can survive due to different factors. The chemotherapy protocols express the findings from different well-researched studies so that the patient has a logical base to learn about the effects of chemotherapy and also reduce the side effects.

How does the chemotherapy protocol work?
The normal cells grow up and perish through a process called apoptosis. The cancer cells keep on dividing and creation of more and more cells take place so that normal apoptosis happens. The drugs that are anticancer destroy the cells causing cancer by not letting them grow and divide. Chemotherapy consists of several or one of the cytotoxic drugs that cause the cells to be killed. Chemotherapy helps to shrink the tumors and kill the cells causing cancer as well as the normal healthy cells. Oncologists try to minimize the damage caused to the normal cells and also enhance the cytotoxic effect on the cells causing cancer. In many cases a true balance is not achieved.

Clinical studies often bring out definite types of cancer chemotherapy studies that prolong the lives of the patients. A partial remission of fifty per cent is possible and a great reduction of the growth of tumor may be found on radiological study. Tests like blood test or urine tests also reveal the success rate of chemotherapy treatment. Ultimately the remissions achieves are all more or less partial remissions. These are often measured in terms of weeks and not in years. Some types of cancer however do not show a marked response to chemotherapy.