CHEMOTHERAPY FACT SHEET:

• Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with drugs, hormones, and other biological substances that can destroy cancer cells.
• most popular way of treating cancer worldwide.
• Used for both Leukemia and Lymphoma.
• It comes in two forms, anti-cancer (antineoplastic) and cell-killing (cytotoxic). Unlike radiation and surgery, it seeks out cancer cells throughout the body as opposed to in a specific place, and is thus considered a systemic treatment.
• There are several different types of chemotherapy drugs that are used in the treatment of cancer. These include alkylating agents, which destroy DNA; antimetabolites, which hinder the growth of RNA and DNA; anti-tumor antibiotics, which hinder DNA replication by interfering with associated enzymes; topoisomerase inhibitors, which makes DNA replication more difficult by preventing the separation of DNA strands; mitotic inhibitors, which prevent mitosis of the cancer cells from occurring; and corticosteroids, which are used to both kill cancer cells and alleviate side effects.
• More than half of all people with cancer receive some form of chemotherapy, and after surgical removal it is one of the best ways to treat the disease.
• Chemo drugs are known as “cytotoxic drugs”.
• Surgery and radiation therapy remove, destroy or damage cancer cells directly in a specific area. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, works throughout the body. Its goal is to destroy cancer cells wherever they may be, even if they have spread to parts of the body far from the primary (original) tumor site.
• Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells by interfering with their growth, by preventing them from reproducing, and in some cases, by inducing the cell to program itself to die (apoptosis).
• Chemotherapy may be used for the treatment of cancer as the only treatment as in many cases of lymphoma. More frequently it will be given in combination with surgery and/or radiation.
• Chemotherapy is a term for drugs that kill cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy drugs are often given into a vein. Once the drugs enter the bloodstream, they spread throughout the body. Clolar is given by intravenous (IV) infusion, meaning the medication is injected directly into a vein over a period of two hours.
• In some cases, chemotherapy may be just one drug given to fight the cancer. But in many cases, chemotherapy is given in combination with other drugs. Most newly diagnosed people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receive a combination of chemotherapy drugs.
• Because chemotherapy drugs target rapidly dividing cells, they can also damage normal cells. This is the cause of many common side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and fatigue.
• Some chemotherapy drugs may put the patient at risk for dehydration. Drinking plenty of fluids may help prevent this potentially dangerous condition.

Sites I found interesting:

http://www.getchemofacts.com/

http://www.chemotherapy.com/