Currently, the most accepted cancer treatment method approach is chemotherapy which we may hear about its side effects that make some patients worry therefore today an oncologist, Dr. Wichit Arpornwirat from Oncology Center Phyathai 2 Hospital, has more explanation for everyone.
What is Chemotherapy?
The chemotherapy is a group of chemical substances which inhibit and destroy cells that have rapid growth or division such as cancer cell; meanwhile, they damage some good cells in the body such as white blood cell, hair cell or stomach cell; for that reasons, side effects from receiving chemotherapy like hair loss, fatigue and diarrhea usually happen to a patient.
Naturally, when good/ normal cells in the body are destroyed, the body then has to create new cells to replace quickly; after having a procedure a doctor will let patients recover for about 3-4 weeks or wait until amounts of white blood cells and body condition are ready for the next round of the procedure. Some of the certain cancers may require treatment using both chemotherapy and radiation at the same time until the full treatment course is completed.
Do cancer patients need to get chemotherapy ?
Patients with cancer may not need to be treated with chemotherapy. Firstly, we need to understand that cancer can occur to any parts of the body even patients found having a disease in the same spot does not mean it is the same type. Thus, each patient has to receive a different way of treatment individually.
Can chemotherapy treat all types of cancer?
Chemotherapy cannot cure all types of cancer as single chemo drug may be effective with only some cancer cells. Therefore, several chemo drugs are used to treat cancer depending on the type of cancer. Some types of cancer may require 2-3 chemo drugs for the treatment.
For the past 40 years, there has been a constant research on the chemotherapy drugs, improving the treatment outcome and assisting the doctor to choose the right combination of chemo drugs. With advanced medical technology, new techniques of treatment have been regularly developed, and these techniques leads to a higher rate of success for cancer treatment.
