Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy can be an effective treatment option for many types of cancer at all stages.

At Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic, our medical oncologists use innovative methods to personalize chemotherapy treatment. This can improve its effectiveness and reduce some of chemotherapy’s side effects.

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy uses powerful medications designed to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth. It is one of the most common treatments for cancer, and it can work alone or in combination with other therapies.

You might have chemotherapy to shrink a tumor before having surgery to remove it (this is called neoadjuvant therapy). Or you may have it after surgery or radiation to destroy any remaining cancer cells (this is called adjuvant therapy). Chemotherapy is also used to relieve symptoms for people with advanced cancer.

Types of chemotherapy

Chemotherapy drugs are most often delivered by intravenous (IV) infusion. If you’ll be receiving chemotherapy for several weeks or months, your doctor will place a catheter (a thin tube often called a port) into a vein in your hand or arm. Each time you go for a chemo treatment, you’ll receive your medication directly into this port.

While infusions are the most common type of chemotherapy treatment, they aren’t the only way to deliver these medications. Depending on the type, stage and location of the cancer, you might receive chemo using:

Chemotherapy delivered to one area of the body: Chemotherapy drugs can be given directly in the abdomen (intraperitoneal chemotherapy) or central nervous system (intrathecal chemotherapy). Chemotherapy can also be given through the urethra into the bladder (intravesical chemotherapy).
Chemotherapy delivered directly into a tumor: Chemotherapy can be delivered directly to the cancerous tumor or, after surgery, where the tumor was. For example, your provider can place thin disk-shaped wafers containing chemotherapy drugs near a tumor during surgery. The wafers break down over time, releasing chemotherapy drugs.
Creams: Topical chemotherapy creams are often used to treat skin cancer.
Injections: Chemotherapy medications can be injected into the skin or deep into a muscle. The process is the same as a vaccine or other type of shot.
Pills: Oral chemotherapy medications work just like intravenous ones. You take them on a regular schedule as directed by your doctor for one or more cycles (periods of time during which you receive chemo treatment).

Other types of cancer treatments are also given as medicine, but they are different from chemotherapy. These include:

Hormone therapy: Medications can block or lower hormones levels to help treat cancer tumors fueled by hormones (such as breast or prostate).
Immunotherapy: This therapy uses medications that encourage the immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells in the body.
Targeted therapy: Medications are targeted to find and attack specific cancer cells.

Conditions chemotherapy treats

Chemotherapy treats many different types of cancer at all stages. It’s often used in combination with other cancer treatments – especially radiation and surgery.

Chemotherapy can treat:

Localized cancer: When a tumor has not spread beyond where it originated, chemo can help shrink it or keep it from spreading.
Metastatic cancer: For cancer that has spread to other areas of the body, chemotherapy can slow the growth of cancer cells and prevent new tumors.
Advanced stage cancer: When cancer is no longer curable, chemotherapy can help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

Chemotherapy side effects

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning the medications affect healthy cells as well as cancerous ones. This can cause a variety of unpleasant side effects.

The most common side effects people experience during chemotherapy include:

Fatigue
Hair loss
Mouth sores
Nausea
Vomiting

Talk to your cancer care team about ways to manage chemotherapy side effects. They can provide supportive care as you navigate this part of your treatment.