Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment methodology. It is based on use of anti-tumor drugs to kill cancer-causing cells. This approach is also used to cause damages to rapid growth cells or those which multiply at a faster rate. Medications used under chemotherapy perform their tasks in stages. This is the main reason behind why chemotherapy works in a unique manner and may change from one person to another.
Chemotherapy remains a reliable and a trusted approach for treating cancers. This approach is known to treat cancers of almost all types and sites. Your doctor – depending on the site of cancer and the stage it is in – will use powerful drugs to destroy problem-causing cells. Nearly 110 drugs have the clearance of US-based drug clearing authority – the Food & drug administration, for this purpose.
All you need to remember is drugs administered as part of chemotherapy for breast cancer focus either on adding more years to individuals affected by a cancerous condition or treat the underlying cancers.
So, what is chemotherapy for breast cancer?
Drugs administered through chemotherapy for breast cancer cannot identify cell’s that cause cancerous growth. Instead, these drugs may work on all kinds of cells i.e., both healthier ones as well as cancer-triggering cells. It is quite common under chemotherapy offered for breast cancers to injure to damage harmless cells as well.
Your treating doctor will focus on how to reduce the damages chemotherapy offered for breast cancer inflicts on harmless or non-cancerous cells. On the other hand, your medical oncologist will remain determined to enhance the damage inflicted upon cancerous / high-growth cells. But you need not worry about the odds of harming your normal cells. These non-cancerous cells tend to get back to active life once chemotherapy offered for breast cancer is over.
What happens in chemotherapy for breast cancer?
Breast cancers are treated with anti-tumor drugs to chiefly kill cancer-triggering cells and their structures. Many of these meds prescribed as part of chemotherapy for breast cancers function in cycles of their own. Every drug used in this realm functions a unique way on breast cancers. You are advised to go with the advice of your team of caregivers; your caregiving team knows which drug suits best to breast cancers, and at what dosages you get the best possible results.
Chemotherapy for breast cancers aims to cause irreversible damages to cancerous cells. Once the cells are stifled and are unable to multiply any further, growth stops. Stoppage of cell-level growth means treatment of breast cancer is actively underway. Once being damaged, cancerous cells cannot bounce back to life, and thus may be impaired forever from causing any further damage to your breasts or body.
You are advised to adhere to the treatment plan suggested by your caregivers. In some cases, your treatment plan may consist of chemotherapy sittings coupled with a surgery; there are also instances wherein chemotherapy for breast cancers is offered along with radiation therapy. In some cases, treatment plans have included three modalities i.e., chemotherapy, radiation treatment and a surgical intervention – all offered in a pre-determined order.
Side effects of chemotherapy for breast cancer
Chemotherapy for breast cancers may cause a few undesired outcomes / side effects. But these adverse outcomes may vary from one individual to another. Thus, no 2 persons undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancers may develop similar types of undesired outcomes.
On the other hand, a few common effects may show up while taking chemotherapy for breast cancers. These include a marked decrease in potency of your immune cells, increased odds of bleeding and internal bruises, nerve pains – also known as neuralgia, painful tissues and / or bones, loss of hair from almost all parts of your body and added risks of being infected quite often.
Chemotherapy for breast cancers may also trigger skin-based problems such as formation of rashes, sores or wounds along with blisters. In some instances, scarring of skin may show up. Most of these skin problems may go away once your chemotherapy sittings for breast cancers get completed.
On the other hand, if you see skin-based conditions to persists, and / or if they become worser, ask for medical help on an urgent basis. It is considered safe not to take greasy foods, spicy and deep-fried food items. On a related note, it is an unsafe practice to take alcohol while you are undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancers.
Meds – though not all of them – used for chemotherapy for breast cancers can lead to pain in your body. Pain scale varies between drugs – i.e., no two drugs cause the same level of pains. There are chemo drugs that can cause an acute spell of migraine / headache. There are some meds that cause painful nerve conditions. If you experience acute episodes of pains, it means the growth of cancerous cells has turned more rapid.
Owing to the risks of a relapse of growth of breast cancers, it is not a safe thing to discontinue chemotherapy for breast cancers. Despite bodily discomforts like pains, it is highly recommended to go ahead with chemotherapy sitings. Lastly, it can be harmful to abruptly stop use of chemotherapy for breast cancers without the consent of your caregiving team.
How is chemotherapy done for breast cancer?
Meds taken for chemotherapy for breast cancers differ with the stage of this autoimmune condition. The choice of chemotherapy drugs is best left to your treating oncologist; he / she knows what types of chemo meds work well for your breast cancers. Your doctor also knows what meds to use depending on your age, presence of other medical conditions, current medication plans – if any, pursuit of other modalities to treat cancers.
It is a common thing to offer chemotherapy for breast cancers along with other forms of treatment – viz., radiation therapy, hormonal therapies, surgical interventions, etc. The caregiving team weighs multiple approaches and types of meds that best suit with your medical condition. Meds used as per of chemotherapy for breast cancers can include anti-tumor drugs – especially unique types of antibiotics, metabolite-antagonists, alkaloids, etc.
Of the above meds, stay aware of adverse effects anti-tumor meds of the antibiotic genre can trigger. Undesired effects can show up as wounds or sores on your oral parts like throat, inner sides of your cheeks, gums, lips, etc. You may also notice a significant reduction in number of red cells of your blood. If such undesired signs stay on for long, seek clinical assistance from your oncologist on an emergency mode.
Drugs classified as alkylators, or alkylating-meds are known to cause irreparable damage to cells that spread fast. Disrupting the cellular-level structure of such rapid-growth units makes them incapable of any growth possibilities. Added dosages of alkylators may have an adverse effect on your bone marrows. This is evident by a marked change in number of blood cells in your system.
In order to know the count of cells prior to treatment, your physician is likely to order a complete blood cell count – i.e., CBC. This test provides the count of red cells, white cells as well as platelets in your blood.
Meds of a genre called metabolite-agonists are quite popular among oncological practitioners. Key ingredients of such meds damage cell-level contents of tumor cells. By doing this, further multiplication of these agents is stalled. Patients who use such agonist-meds may develop some adverse effects; commonly encountered adverse effects are swelling of your liver (also known as hepatitis), liver cirrhosis, etc.
In some cases, patients tend to develop symptoms of infections like a runny nose, increase in body temperature or flu. Doctors use these metabolite agonists for treating malignant cancers developing in your ovaries as well as breasts.
Apart from these, topoisomerase-inhibiting meds also administered for treating cancers. These can stop rapid growth of agents causing tumors. Of the various sub-genres in this category, your doctor selects the most apt drug to disrupt growth of tumors.
How many chemotherapies needed for breast cancer?
This depends on your medical condition and its severity. There are however instances wherein sittings have hovered in the range of 4 to 7 cycles. Also, all cycles are not the same. For instance, a 3-week cycle may have sittings on the first and second weeks of a month, only to be followed up on the last week of the month. In some cases – wherein the case has turned into an acute one – an added number of sittings, ranging in the order of 9 – 10 are ordered.
