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Treatment: Chemotherapy

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Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of chemical drugs to kill cancerous cells and microorganisms. The chemicals mutate DNA so that dividing cells cannot replicate.

Chemotherapy is most frequently used to treat the following conditions by our membersLogin to add your rating >

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People near you using the same treatments

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Read what others are saying about Chemotherapy

I will be stating this next week. I am not sure yet.4/28/2011 at 06:52 PM
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After they found the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes, the first course I took was a combination of chemotherapy and radiation for about 3 months. Although the tumor got smaller, it wasn't stable with the lymph node involvement. I then went to Los Angeles to Compassionate Oncology where although they use traditional drugs, the manner in which they are prescribed and the treatment course is very different than just straight chemotherapy. This treatment has kept the cancer under control for 6 years, although it is still present. I will always be on medication to control the disease, much like a diabetic would be for their life.8/20/2010 at 03:17 PM
Was this review helpful? Yes
Six years later, still have thin hair and bad neuropathy.7/16/2010 at 12:45 AM
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Started on chem and radiation four months after the whipple. I was weak with no energy and it was all I could do to drag myself to radiation every day. I wore a chemo bag M-F in a fanny pack. The medication would run out on Fridays so they would unhook me and I would have the weekend to shower, wash hair, etc. then get hooked up again on Monday. Half way through the month, I was violently ill, had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital where I stayed for four days. I did this for a whole month. I had two months off and started a 6 month stint of chemo one day a week. My blood levels would get too low for them to administer the chemo, usually by the third week and I would be sent home with a shot of Neupegen. I would take the chemo over this shot any day. Its purpose was to stimulate my body to make RBC. My body would hurt for 36 hours...it felt like a truck ran over me. I would lay in the bath tub for hours as that was the only way to calm my body and my respiration. I was also sick a lot, not being able to hold food down. I did go back to work, 40+ hours, but it was hard. I6/12/2010 at 08:54 PM
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i knew before hand that i would loose all my hair. My way of coping was to get it cut shorter in intervals until it started falling out and then getting it all shaved off. It was my call, not the chemo/cancers choice. Would I do it that way again - maybe not. I would just shave it off when it started falling out. Short hairs falling out get everywhere, especially in the shower - it was like taking a shower with a shaggy dog :-) Be bald, be proud - other people will be embarassed before you if you just hold your head up high and say stuff them all. POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE is the answer. Pass it on. 6/4/2010 at 05:01 AM
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Disclaimer: The list and ratings above are for informational purposes only, and is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. The goal of the information is to provide you with a comprehensive view of all available treatments, but should not be construed to indicate that use of any one treatment is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. Decisions about use of a new treatment, or about a change in your current treatment plan, should be in consultation with your doctor or other healthcare professional.