Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses potent chemicals to kill rapidly growing cells in the body. It is typically associated with fighting cancer cells, but the American Cancer Society notes that in lower doses chemotherapy is also beneficial for treating immune system disorder such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. MayoClinic.com explains that chemotherapy may be used as a primary treatment for cancer, or in conjunction with other treatments such as surgery.
Curative Use
The most popularly known use for chemotherapy is treating malignant growths and cancer cells in the body. The American Cancer Society notes that though the word "cure" is not used when referring to cancer treatment, in many cases chemotherapy does have a curative benefit in that it can kill the cancer cells at their origin and also destroy cancer cells that may have spread to other areas of the body. Chemotherapy used in combination with surgery or radiation therapy is called adjuvant chemotherapy, and is used to remove any unseen malignant cells that may not have been removed. This increases the chance that all cancer cells in the body will be destroyed.
Control Disease
Chemotherapy can also be used to control cancer by shrinking tumors, which can stop the cancer from growing or spreading to other areas of the body. This may help to effectively slow the disease and make it more treatable with other methods such as surgery.
Palliative Treatment
Cancer that is at an advanced stage is more difficult to treat, and chemotherapy drugs can be used to relieve symptoms in such cases. A 2000 study published in the "British Medical Journal" notes that chemotherapy is useful in palliative treatment to improve the quality of life in patients with advanced colorectal and other types of cancer. The chemotherapy helped to control pain and other symptoms of the disease.
