Changes In Chemotherapy

The term chemotherapy is defined as: “The treatment of disease by means of chemicals that have a specific toxic effect upon the disease-producing microorganisms that selectively destroy cancerous tissue” (Dictionary of Cultural Literacy). When chemotherapy was first developed at the beginning

Chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer kill the most rapidly dividing cells in the body,

Since chemotherapy agents have been around in the 1950s there have been studies to find out the effect on the health care workers, particularly the pharmacists who make the drugs and nurses who administer the drugs to the patients. I will be focusing my research on the nurses who administer the chemotherapy drugs to the patients. Chemotherapy falls under the hazardous drug category due to the low levels of exposure nurses are exposed to while administering chemotherapy.

According to the oral cancer foundation, “Chemotherapy is the use of chemicals to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy works by interfering with the cancer cell's ability to grow. It is one of the three main methods utilized to treat cancer.” With cancer being a potentially fatal disease it is important to diagnose it as soon as possible. the oncologist have to study the chemicals used so that they can determine what chemicals will treat the cancer or disease the best and what chemicals can be mixed together without any major side effects. The drugs can be divided into groups based on how they work, their chemical structure, and their relationship to other drugs.

What do you think are the most important changes in chemotherapeutic management of microbial disease?

They may be applied to bloodstream or directly to a cancer site. Chemotherapy typically refers to the destruction of cancer cells, however some may include antibiotics or other medications to cure an illness or infection. Often, chemo is used alongside other treatments. Physical activity is important and it’s been found that patients who regularly exercise after chemotherapy treatment have a much lower risk of cancer recurrence. Chemotherapy generally has 5 goals; total remission, combination therapy, delay/prevent reoccurrence, slow down cancer progression and relieve cancer symptoms. The objective is to prevent cell division using cytotoxic drugs, to target cancer cells food source, enzymes and hormones that they need in order to grow, and to stop the growth of new blood vessels that supply the tumor. Patients can either receive monotherapy where they’re just given one drug, or combination where the patient receives more than one drug. These courses of chemo can be just a one day treatment or last for a few weeks, it depends on the type and stage of the cancer basically how advanced it

Most chemotherapy drugs are given as a course of up to ten sessions (cycles) of treatment. This will depend on the type of drug you are having. At each treatment session you will be given the chemotherapy drug through a drip (infusion). This involves running a liquid containing the drug through a fine tube (cannula) into a vein in your arm. This allows the drug to enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body.

Chemical antimicrobial agents are chemical compounds capable of either inhibiting the growth of microorganisms or killing them outright. Those which are taken internally to alleviate the symptoms of or promote healing from disease are called chemotherapeutic drugs, and among these is a class of compounds called antibiotics. In order for a chemotherapeutic drug to be classed as an antibiotic, it must be produced by a microorganism such as bacterium or fungus or at least derived from a chemical produced by one. It must also be capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of other microorganisms and of doing so when taken in very small quantities.

* Chemotherapy: Using special medicines or drugs to shrink or kill the cancer, Drugs include pills or IV. (Maybe both)

Over the last decade, medicine has acknowledged the psychosocial impact of cancer treatments on patients, to the point that it has become a subject of psycho-medical research. Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is a physical condition that can have profound psychosocial consequences, leading to a negative body image, lowered self-esteem, and a reduced sense of well-being. Patients, women who fear alopecia in particular, may sometimes refuse or select another treatment that lower the risk of baldness. In her testimony, Lori, a breast cancer patient, expresses a common feeling for women with cancer: “The worst part of this entire experience [cancer], is losing my hair [….] The chemotherapy would be so much easier if I had my own hair. I appreciate

DNA is composed of two strands with molecules binding to either both strands or only one strand. If the cell attempts to reproduce crosslinked DNA while it is going through cell division the strand of DNA can break, leading to apoptosis, which is programmed cell death.4 The category of alkylating agents has many subcategories of chemicals. The nitrogen mustards include mechlorethamine, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, and melphalan.5 The group nitrosoureas includes streptozicin, carmustine, and lomustine.5 Alkyl sulfates include one chemical called busulfan.5 The subcategory known as triazines includes dacarbazine and temozolomide. The ethylenimines include thiotepa and alretamine.5 Since these drugs inhibit cell replication, there is a lot of damage done to the human body. One very detrimental piece of damage that is done is long-term damage to bone marrow.5 Bone marrow is responsible for producing the blood cells in the body. It holds hematopoietic stem cells, which allow for the production of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. White blood cells are what allow our bodies to fight off infection, so if there is damage to the bone marrow, our body will not produce white blood cells in an effective manner which will ultimately make us more susceptible to infection or disease. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body as well

    Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.

Some of those defense chemicals might lead to new drugs. For example, some sea-sponge chemicals poison an invading sponge by stopping its cells from dividing. Halting cell growth is also a key way to stop cancers, Pomponi notes. Cancers are basically cells that invade healthy tissue, where they endlessly divide, or grow. Shirley Pomponi, Mir submersible

Chemotherapy and radiation both work be destroying rapidly growing cancer cells. Chemotherapy does this by sending medication throughout the entire body. Radiation therapy targets the cancer cells more directly, but is sometimes sent throughout the body as well. When it is, the radiation is more likely to make its way into the cancer cells without affecting other tissues. Unfortunately, these treatments both kill some healthy cells, causing some unpleasant side effects. Targeted therapy is sometimes a better option. Although considered a form of chemotherapy, targeted therapy uses chemicals that attack only certain parts of a call rather than the entire entity. This allows the medication to target only the cancer cells that contain these anomalies while avoiding healthy

Cancer is one of the most destructive illnesses worldwide, affecting almost ⅓ of all people. Thankfully, treatments, like chemotherapy, have been developed to combat and reduce the prevalence of this life threatening illness. Chemotherapy is the use of combined drugs to eliminate the aggressive growth of cancerous cells. Chemotherapy can be used numerous ways, all working towards stopping the growth of cancer cells. However, what is not accounted for are the societal factors resulting from cancer and its treatment. Specifically, the societal economic ramifications of chemotherapy treatment.