Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy can be used to:

• Reduce the size of cancer: this is known as neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can be given to shrink a cancer before surgery or radiotherapy. This can make it easier to remove during surgery or make radiotherapy work better. If curing the cancer is not possible, it can shrink cancers that are causing pain and pressure.
• Prevent cancer coming back after surgery: this is known as adjuvant chemotherapy. Even if your surgery was successful in removing all visible cancer, there may be a chance of your cancer returning. Microscopic pieces of cancer sometimes remain and are undetectable with X-ray or scans.  Depending on your specific case, you may benefit from adjuvant therapy, since this additional treatment may reduce the risk of your cancer recurring.
• Control cancer: chemotherapy can help prevent cancer from spreading by slowing its growth, or destroying cancer cells that have returned (recurrent cancer) or spread to other parts of your body (metastatic cancer).
• Ease cancer symptoms: if a cure is not possible, chemotherapy may be given to shrink and control the cancer, or to reduce the number of cancer cells. This may then improve your quality of life. This is called palliative treatment.
• Complement alternative treatments: chemotherapy can help radiation therapy and biological therapy work more effectively.

Some chemotherapy treatments are given as tablets or capsules which are called oral chemotherapy, but most are given by drip (infusion) into a vein.

The drugs go into the bloodstream and travel throughout the body to treat the cancer cells wherever they are. Occasionally just one chemotherapy drug is used, but often a combination of two, three or more drugs is given.

Treatment schedules for chemotherapy vary widely, depending on the type of cancer you have and how advanced it is. Your consultant will discuss these options with you.

To help you keep track of your treatment, we will provide you a treatment passport. This document will help you keep track of your appointments, dosage (oral chemotherapy), side effects, and any other information. 

Chemotherapy affects people in different ways. How you feel depends on how healthy you are before treatment, your type of cancer, how advanced it is, the kind of chemotherapy you are receiving, and the dose.

Every patient is different, so you may get many side-effects, some, or none at all. It all depends on the type and the amount of drugs you get and how your body reacts to them. Unfortunately, when working on the cancerous cells, the drugs can also affect the healthy cells.

Some common side effects include:

• Infection
• Infertility
• Bruising
• Nausea and/or sickness
• Hair loss
• Sore mouth
• Numbness/pins and needles
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite/taste

Your care team will explain to you the type of side effects that could be experienced as a result of the chemotherapy drugs being used for your treatment.

In addition to (or instead of) chemotherapy, you may require:

• Hormonal therapy in tablet or injection formats for e.g. breast or prostate cancer
• Monoclonal antibodies for certain types of lymphoma
• Targeted therapies for some lung and bowel cancers
• Immunotherapy for specific forms of lung cancer, melanoma, cervical and other cancers

While certain chemotherapy treatments may cause hair loss, hair thinning is a more common side effect. However, if you are receiving a type of treatment that can lead to hair loss, this will occur approximately two weeks after the first treatment session.