Chemotherapy

Cytotoxic Chemotherapy: Healing cancer

The cancerous cells multiply in a human body by dividing at a very fast rate. They do not allow the healthy cells to grow. The medicines that are administered through cytotoxic chemotherapy do not allow the cancer cells to grow by dividing. In all the chemotherapy treatment a combination of two or more drugs are used to destroy the cancer cells. Two types of drugs are used so that the chances of killing of the cancer cells are more.

But a different method is followed in the cytotoxic chemotherapy. Here only one main medicine is used to give the desired result. This therapy is mainly given to patients suffering from breast cancer. The medicines while destroying the cancer cells kills the healthy cells as well. This happens because the agents kill all that cells that divide. It is unable to differentiate between the normal and the cancerous ones. As a result of this the patient suffers from various side effects.

There are various other effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy. Due to the destruction of the healthy cells the patient suffers from nausea, hair loss. The ovaries also stop functioning. This results in early menopause among the women. But it all depends on the amount of treatment given. So the doctors have come forward with a step so that the side effects can be reduced to a greater extent.

The interval between two sessions of cytotoxic chemotherapy has been increased to that the healthy cells are able to recover before another session. The number of session of the therapy depends upon the medicines used. Usually a person has to undergo 4 to 6 rounds of chemotherapy session. Different types of medicines are used for treating a patient suffering from breast cancer. The most commonly used medicines are cytotoxic antibiotics and antimetabolites.

It is not necessary that cytotoxic chemotherapy is given when the cancer has reached an advanced stage. It is also given during the early stages of the cancer. This helps in the prevention of cancer cells. They are destroyed at an early stage thus there are chances of few side effects. The survival chances are also more as the number of healthy cells are more. Earlier patients suffering from breast cancer were not given chemotherapy. It was a general belief that the cancer is confined only in the breast region and cure is possible by treating it locally.

When later on cytotoxic chemotherapy was administered to the breast cancer patients the results were astonishing. The rate of survival increased. The chemotherapy is very helpful to patients suffering from an advanced stage of breast cancer. The chemotherapy session ranges anywhere from six to twelve months. The duration and the results are much better than the hormonal therapy.