Chemotherapy is a medical procedure that employs the use of different medicines to prevent the growth of cancerous cells. In some cases, chemotherapy kills off the cancerous cells, which leads to remission. There are four basic ways that chemotherapy is administered: orally, intravenously, through injection or topically. In addition to these, there are some specialized ways to administer chemotherapy, including intrathecal (into the spinal fluid) and intravesical (into the bladder). The one thing that all of these methods have in common is that they start with a doctor, usually an oncologist, determining the dosing information for the patient. This includes the type of medicine, the dose amount and the frequency that the chemotherapy must be administered.
Oral Chemotherapy
When a patient is prescribed oral chemotherapy, he has either monthly, weekly or daily medications. In some cases, he may have a combination of frequencies. Most oral chemotherapy medications should be taken on an empty stomach. A few of them must be taken with juice. In any case, it is vital to follow the directions for the medication precisely, as deviating from them can result in a less effective treatment or more intense side effects.
Intravenous Chemotherapy
Some chemotherapy drugs are given via an IV catheter. In this case, the patient has a port inserted either into the wrist, abdomen or chest area. When the patient goes to the clinic for the chemotherapy treatments, the pump that contains the medicine is hooked up to the port. The medicine then flows through the line from the pump to the port and enters the patient's body. This type of chemotherapy is usually done several times a week.
Injection Chemotherapy
Oftentimes, after a patient has completed a dose of intravenous chemotherapy, she begins a dosing cycle of injection drugs. These are given either in a clinic or at home by injecting the medication directly into the muscle or soft tissue of the hip, thigh or stomach. These drugs are given several times per day according to the dosing cycle instructions. Sometimes these injections are used to "wean" a patient off of chemotherapy.
Topical Chemotherapy
For some cancers, such as skin cancer, applying cream chemotherapy drugs directly to the cancerous areas produce the best results. In this case, the patient applies the cream to the area according to a strict schedule determined by the doctor. When using this type of chemotherapy, the patient must ensure that the cream doesn't come into contact with anyone or anything. Some medications can be covered right away, while others have to be allowed to dry for at least an hour before the patient covers the area.
Tags: cancerous cells, case patient, chemotherapy drugs, dosing cycle, drugs given, several times