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A Cancer Treatment - Chemotherapy

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Chemotherapy is a treatment for cancers that involves administering chemicals into the body that are found toxic to malignant cells. Chemotherapy, often successful in treating malignant cancer cells, often produces intense side effects in the body. According to a review published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, certain types of acupuncture-point stimulation may relieve chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting. Despite significant progress over the past decade in controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, more than half of all patients receiving chemotherapy still suffer from these side effects. Furthermore, nausea may persist when vomiting is controlled. These symptoms can be severely debilitating and often lead patients to refuse further courses of chemotherapy. Refusing chemotherapy can minimize the chance for optimal health outcome.

Chemotherapy is a treatment used to treat cancer by using drugs. Usually, it is used after surgery to control growth or reappearance of cancer cells. It is very systematic method in which drugs are entered through the blood stream and travels throughout the body to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is also used in combination that gives better results. You can go through chemotherapy at home, clinic or hospital. Duration of chemotherapy depends on the type, stage and current health of patient that it can be given as daily, weekly, monthly or an on-off schedule.

This site is packed with educational and support information about chemotherapy. An excellent resource for cancer patients as well as their caregivers. You will find information to better understand cancer, articles on treating cancer with chemotherapy as well as other treatment options, facts about chemotherapy side effects, and tools to help you with insurance, support organizations, tracking your test results and more. You can sign up to receive a complimentary one-year subscription to "Women and Cancer" magazine.

The final reason why ovarian cancer chemotherapy is important is because you are giving the medical community a chance to study the best ways of treating the disease. This is especially the case if you are getting ovarian cancer chemotherapy in a clinical trial. Even if you feel your life is 'over,' think about the lives of your daughter, granddaughter or any other women that will survive you. You never know what new facts could be found out by your treatment.

Chemotherapy is used pre-operatively to shrink the tumor, making it easier to remove and surgery less invasive. In a post-operative treatment plan, chemotherapy is almost used as a preventive, to kill any cells which are too small for detection and removal during surgery. Some cancers may not be able to be completely removed during surgery, because of the risk to the patient. In this case, chemotherapy is used, not as a cure, but to reduce the tumor, and thus, the symptoms.

Chemotherapy drugs are powerful medications that attack rapidly growing cancer cells. Unfortunately, these drugs also attack other rapidly growing cells in your body - including those in your hair roots. Chemotherapy hair loss and changes in skin and body can be devastating after effects of cancer treatment.

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