Pros And Cons Of Chemotherapy

From surgery to radium exposure to such extremes as radiation therapy, as doctors’ knowledge of the varying types of cancer, and the expansion of medical research regarding cancer has changed, so has the preferred method of treatment. Doctors and researchers dedicated to studying cancer have led to a greater understanding of cancer development; consequently the development of treatments and cures that are more effective, less harmful, have fewer side effects, and in some cases serve to prevent the spread of cancer.

There are many different type of cancers, there are also many different types of treatments. One of the most known types of treatments would be chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can be used for a wide range of different types of cancers and diseases, and each of the different types of cancers or diseases require a different group, and sometimes order, of chemicals to properly treat the cancer or disease. These chemicals include: Alkylating agents, Antimetabolites, Anthracyclines, Topoisomerase inhibitors, mitotic inhibitors, corticosteroids, and more. Each of these drugs previously listed have its own cancer type(s) or disease(s) that it can assist in treating. Some of these cancers include: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, multiple

Abstract Cancer “Sucks” and many individuals today are dealing with it or know someone who has dealt with it. The late president Richard Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971 and we have been fighting the battle ever since (McCarthy, 2015, paras. 16). Since the declaration many possible cures were developed and chemotherapy is the one which seems to work on almost every cancer. However, this treatment has drawbacks that are either controversial or questionable as to what degree they help with defeating cancer.

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

It is no secret that cancer is leading cause of death in the world. It was estimated that in 2012, 14.1 million new cases of cancer occurred worldwide and 8.2 million people died as a result of cancer [1]. Cancer prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate, yet the progress of treatment has been slow, with benefits of treatment being measured in only months or even weeks. Most patients with a specific type of cancer at a certain stage will receive the exact same form of treatment, but it has been made clear that while the treatment works well for some, it does not for a significant amount of others. The treatment that patients receive today is based on

To attain an effect approach to care of cancer there need for a holistic approach on the benefits to the patient. In the year 2010, the number of new cases of cancer was estimated to at 1.52 million cases with close to 570,000 of these people expected to die. This marks a 68% improvement compared to the initial survival rate of five years upon diagnosis. Associated costs in cancer treatment are on the rise. In the United States, costs amount to $263.8 billion where direct medical cost accounts for $102.8 billion and the rest being the lost productivity in the U.S. workforce (Stjernswärd, 2011). Advances in treatment have downgraded the disease from a terminal disease to a chronic one. Drug utilization in the United States increased by 0.7% in the year 2009 and spending grew by 6.1% per person. This is an aspect attributable to new and expensive therapies offered to patients (Edge S.B. et al., 2010).

Chemotherapy is the administration of chemicals into the body in an attempt to cure/lessen the severity of cancer in living organisms. Chemotherapy is always given with a curative intent, but that cannot always be promised to the patient, so sometimes it is given to relieve symptoms that the patients are experiencing or to improve their overall quality of life.1 While chemotherapy is used as an agent to try to rid individuals of their cancer, it is essentially slowly killing them. The chemicals used for the treatment are toxic to the human body and while they are giving them in small amounts, those small amounts accumulate over time to large amounts in the body. The body is affected by the treatment in various different ways and every body

Chemotherapy is the use of one or more anticancer (cytotoxic) drugs to damage cancer cells so they can’t grow and reproduce. Chemotherapy is most effective on cells that are actively growing and dividing. Because many cancer cells tend to grow and divide quickly, they are sensitive to the effects of chemotherapy.

Cancer can’t be cured, but it may be controlled for a time by chemotherapy. Its goal is to stop or slow down the growth of a tumor or shrink it at least partially or to decrease any pain, bleeding, abstractions

Chemotherapy is most recognizable from its uses in the medical to help people who sadly have cancer. To begin, chemotherapy has saved people lives and defiantly given dejected cancer patients some confidence in their fight. There are many different forms of chemotherapy to treat a wide arrange of patients. They might be different but these horrific chemicals that are being consumed have one goal. These chemicals simply have the goal of entering the body to kill healthy or mutated cells. This primarily where the harsh side effects come into play as the chemicals will kill anything in its path working cell or mutated cell it has no agenda. Chemicals can be entered into your body in a number of different ways such as orally, injections and even creams. Many doctors make specific plans or certain types of cancer if a certain strategy has worked on an earlier patient.

The thought that would cross most of the cancer patient’s minds would be how food, water, the environment, vitamins, sleep and destressing could kill cancer. Since the current society wholeheartedly believes in science and medicine, then most would still believe that chemotherapy is the way to kill cancer. Chemotherapy has continued to improve and evolve with time that there is chemotherapy that is currently out that does not damage any of the healthy cells within the body. That kind of cancer treatment is called targeted therapy and it is slightly different from chemotherapy. Targeted therapy is a form of chemotherapy in which the drugs sole purpose is to attack the cancerous cell and kill it with no damage to the healthy cells. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team (2016) states that purpose of targeted therapy is to “Block or turn off chemical signals, Change proteins, Stop making new blood vessels, Trigger your immune system, and Carry toxins to the cancer cells” (para. 9). As mentioned, targeted therapy hones in just on the cancer and even helps the body’s own immune system to help target that cancer cell so that it can destroy it. According to Lapook (2011), a couple of different types of targeted therapy were successful in blocking the cell or using the

According to the National Cancer Institute by 2002 and other cancer organizations, there are about 250000 to 400000 people who receive chemotherapy each year. Health care professionals know the side effects that the chemotherapy cause and they understand the benefits that they offer. They prevent, detect, diagnose, control, and treat the cancer by minimizing the psychological impacts of the disease and its treatment, and to improve the patients’ quality of life.

    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.

Cancer is a serious and ever growing disease throughout the United States and across the globe. According to data from the National Cancer Institute (2016), about 39.6% of men and women will receive a cancer diagnosis within their lifetime. Due to advancements in screening and treatment, more people are now living with cancer longer than ever before. In 2014, there were close to 14.5 million people living with a cancer diagnosis and this number is going to rise nearly 5 million over the following 10 years (NCI, 2016). The 5-year survival rate for all cancers is also quite high at 68%. Despite the hopeful fact that survival rates are increasing, the incidence rate is also growing, meaning more people are being diagnosed with cancer (Von Roenn et al., 2013).

Cancer is an important health problem that has strongly increased over the past couple of decades. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1,638,910 people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year; that is around 187 people per minute. This disease is ranked as the second most common cause of death in America. With cancer being so common today, there needs to be an effective and relatively fast treatment plan to cure the victims of cancer without causing more harm to them. Extensive research and analysis is critical to determine the best method of treatment. Cancer can be fatal but recent advancement and better understanding of the disease has produced major triumph in overcoming the ailment. Aside from