Breast cancer chemotherapy
In this article, we are going to discuss about chemotherapy for breast cancer. The chemotherapy is a type of therapy or treatment given to the people affected by cancer. The treatment through drugs to destroy the cancer cells are called as chemotherapy. It is a systemic therapy. This means the drug taken for treatment enters the bloodstream and moves all through the body to reach and destroy the cancer cells. There are numerous drugs for treating the breast cancer. Even, there are many drug combinations to treat the cancer.
Chemotherapy can be given either intravenously or orally. The intensity or dosage of the drug depends upon the intensity of the disease. Chemotherapy is given in cycles to the patient with the recovery period following the cycles. The treatments last generally from several months to one year. The treatment depends on the type of drugs given to the patient and the intensity of the disease. If the breast cancer is metastatic, chemotherapy can be given as a main treatment. The doctor who finds which drugs and in what dosage is known as a oncologist. Chemotherapy can be used for three major treatments:
1. Adjuvant therapy. This is to prevent or postpone cancer from coming back after surgeries or radiation therapy. The surgery helps in curing the breast cancer, but sometimes the cancer cells may have spread to other areas that cannot be seen, so this therapy helps in killing these cells.
2. Neo-adjuvant therapy. Sometimes, the breast cancer may be bigger. In that case is difficult to treat with a surgery. So, chemotherapy is used to shrink its size and remove it with the surgery.
3. To treat the metastasis of breast cancer. Chemotherapy is one of the best ways of treatment to cure the metastasis of breast cancer.
Common chemotherapy drugs:
Some of the most common chemotherapy drugs used to treat breast cancer includes the following:
1. Anthracyclines. This class of drugs includes doxorubicin, epirubicin, and liposomal doxorubicin.
2. Taxanes: This class of drugs includes docetaxel, paclitaxel, and protein-bound paclitaxel.
3. Cyclophosphamide.
4. Capecitabine and 5 fluorouracil (5 FU).
5. Vinorelbine (Navelbine)
6. Gemcitabine (Gemzar).
7. Trastuzumab (Herceptin): This drug is only of use in women whose cancers have the Her2 gene
Chemotherapy administration:
Chemotherapy can be given either intravenously or orally daily, weekly or every 2-4 weeks. Chemotherapy is given based on particularly condition. It varies from a person to person. For instance, some people stay in the hospital and receive their chemotherapy intravenously, others receives for an hour a day from their doctors clinic, while others receives in a pill form. Adjuvant therapy starts after recovery from surgery and before radiation therapy and it lasts for 4-6 months. Neo-adjuvant therapy is done prior to surgery or radiation therapy.
Side effects of chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells, but at the same time it also destroys the healthy cells. It is important to tell your doctor if you feel that you having some problem with the drugs that you are taking to treat cancer. The side effects of the chemotherapy are:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Loss of appetite.
- Fatigue is the most common symptom that patient notice.
- Mouth soreness.
- Hair fall.
- Weight gain.
- Premature menopause.
- Lowered resistance to infections.
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