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So you were told that your cancer would be treated with chemotherapy. What exactly does this mean? Are the side effects as bad as you’ve heard? How effective is it? Why not another type of treatment? How about immunotherapy? These are important questions to ask your doctor, but to get you started, here is some basic information about these two common treatments for cancer: chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
chemotherapy
The use of drugs or drugs to treat cancer is chemotherapy. Unlike surgery or radiation therapy, in which cancer is removed, killed or damaged in a specific area, chemotherapy works throughout the body and can be used to kill cancer cells that have metastasized to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy can be used to treat cancer, control cancer or to soothe.
Common side effects from chemotherapy include fatigue, hair loss, easy bruising and bleeding, anemia, infection, changes in appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, mouth, tongue and throat problems (such as pain when swallowing and sores). changes in nails and skin, changes in the bladder and urine, kidney problems, weight changes, mood swings, fertility problems and changes in sexual function and libido. It is important to remember that the fact that all these side effects exist does not mean that you will experience them. You may have only a few or potentially none. Chemotherapy affects people differently.
Immunotherapy
Using the body’s immune system to fight cancer is called immunotherapy. This can be done in one of two ways:
- By stimulating your immune system to attack cancer cells or generally work harder.
- By providing you with components of the immune system, such as man-made proteins.
Immunotherapy works better for certain cancers than for others. Sometimes it is used as the only treatment, and other times in conjunction with other treatments. Immunotherapy can be administered intravenously (IV), orally, topically or intravesically (directly into the bladder). The main forms of immunotherapy currently used to treat cancer are:
- Monoclonal antibodies – artificial proteins that can be designed to attack specific parts of cancer cells.
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors – medicines that help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
- Cancer vaccines – substances introduced into the body to initiate an immune response.
- Non-specific immunotherapies – They generally strengthen the immune system, which can help it attack cancer cells.
The side effects you may experience with immunotherapy depend on the type of immunotherapy you are receiving, but generally possible side effects include skin reactions at the needle site, flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, weakness, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, joint or muscle pain, breathing problems, headaches, high or low blood pressure), weight gain from fluid retention, bloating, sinus congestion, palpitations and risk of infection.
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Source by Areg Boyamyan