Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of chemical
drug therapy meant to destroy rapidly growing
cells in the body. It’s usually used to treat cancer, as
cancer cells grow and divide faster than other cells. A doctor who specializes in
cancer treatment is known as an oncologist. They’ll work with you to come up with your treatment plan.
Chemotherapy is often used in combination with other therapies, such as surgery, radiation, or
hormone therapy. This depends on: the stage and type of
cancer you have, your overall health, previous
cancer treatments you’ve had the location of the
cancer cells, your personal treatment preferences, It’s considered a systemic treatment, which means it affects the entire body.
Chemotherapy is also used to prepare you for other treatments. It could be used to shrink a
tumor so it can be surgically removed or to prepare you for radiation therapy. In the case of late-stage cancer,
chemotherapy may help relieve pain. Besides treatment for cancer,
chemotherapy may be used to prepare people with
bone marrow diseases for a
bone marrow stem cell treatment and it may be used for
immune system disorders. Doses much lower than those used to treat
cancer can be used to help disorders in which the body’s
immune system attacks healthy cells, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
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