Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells via drugs administered orally or by injection. Chemotherapy drugs affect the entire body as they move from bloodstream. Risks associated with chemotherapy include nausea, anemia, hair loss, fatigue, infection and nerve pain, according to MedlinePlus. Chemotherapy treatment plans suit the individual needs of the cancer patient.
Cure
Chemotherapy may be the primary treatment or used with other treatments to cure the patient's cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. When chemotherapy is the primary treatment, the goal is to cure the cancer by destroying all the cancer cells. Adjuvant therapy refers to the use of chemotherapy after other treatments, such as surgery, with the goal of curing the cancer. In this case, the goal of chemotherapy is to eradicate any remaining cancer cells that may be present after the previous treatments.
Shrink Tumors
Neoadjuvant therapy refers to the circumstance of using chemotherapy before other cancer treatments, such as surgery and radiation, according to MayoClinic.com. With neoadjuvant therapy the goal is to reduce the size of the tumors. Using chemotherapy this way increases the efficacy of the forthcoming treatments.
Symptom Relief
According to MayoClinic.com, palliative chemotherapy refers to using chemotherapy to provide relief from the symptoms associated with the advanced stages of cancer, such as pain. In this case, cancer cannot be cured but chemotherapy offers the patient an alternative to improve his quality of life.
