Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Cancer Treamtment - Chemotherapy, an option for Breast Cancer

By Meng Y

Experts agree that for most breast cancer cases, chemotherapy is not the first treatment of choice. But for those for whom it is appropriate, it can provide effective, long term results.

Chemotherapy consists of using drugs to combat cancer. With the increasing sophistication of pharmacology, those drugs are safer, more effective and more targeted, with fewer side effects than ones of the past. Today, it's common to use a drug 'cocktail' in order to offset side effects and provide a more effective treatment.

The drugs used typically interfere with the cells' ability to divide, since that is one of the chief characteristics of cancers, an uncontrolled growth from abnormal cell division in breast cancer tissue.

Usually Chemotherapy is utilized when an individual's cancer has be advanced and requires a treatment that is more rigorous so that it more efficiently and more effectively eliminates cancerous cells. Clumps of cancer cells can grow and spread to other areas. When this occurs it is often indicative that chemotherapy should be utilized.

Cancers can come back. The causes of this is not currently understood. In some instances it could be that the original cancer was not completely eradicated. It could also be the case that the true cause that originally generated the cancerous tumor is still both active and present, causing the cancer to show itself. Whatever the reason is, Chemotherapy is typically used.

One of the major complications associated with chemotherapy is the side effects. Even though the drugs are beginning to improve, chemotherapy treatments can from time to time affect an individual's healthy cells in addition to the ones that are cancerous.

Since some of that function is to fight disease such as the cancer itself, a double harm occurs. Radiation therapy has a similar drawback in that it compromises the immune system, which is part of what helps to fight the cancer and its effects.

Often an individual's digestive system is negatively affected. They might experience nausea, hair loss, and even have poor bone marrow composition. Bone marrow is used for different bodily functions. Most importantly it assists in the production of both white and red blood cells.

Someone undergoing chemotherapy might experience heart, kidney, and other organ damage. This is extremely uncommon because the cells in these organs aren't capable of dividing as frequently under normal instances. In some studies individuals lost their memory and concentration. Older females often find that their reproductive system changes, causing premature menopause.

Still, drugs in use today are better tolerated and more targeted that those of previous generations. They may help cut off vessels that supply blood to the tumors which encourage the growth of just such vessels to feed themselves. There are a variety of chemotherapy regimens, with each one designed for the individual patient and his or her circumstances.

Though never pleasant, chemotherapy provides an important tool in the fight against what was once an almost always fatal disease. Today, long term survivability is greater than ever with fewer long-term side effects. Chemotherapy is one of the reasons.

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