Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with drugs that destroy cancer cells. These drugs
are often called “anti-cancer” drugs.

Chemotherapy:

• Is a systemic treatment (goes through your blood system and affects your entire body).
• Can be given orally, through a vein, by injection, directly at the tumor site with specialized equipment or via continuous infusion.

Depending on the type of cancer and its stage of development, chemotherapy can be
used to:

• Cure cancer.
• Keep the cancer from spreading.
• Slow the cancer’s growth.
• Kill cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body from the original tumor.
• Relieve symptoms that may be caused by the cancer.

Chemotherapy is given at the Coborn Cancer Center by registered nurses trained in chemotherapy administration. Many of the nurses are nationally certified in oncology nursing (OCN) and all have chosen cancer care as their specialty. Some types of chemotherapy need to be given in the hospital. Nurses at the hospital also receive special training in chemotherapy administration.

Normal cells grow and die in a controlled way. Cancerous cells in the body divide and form more cells without control. Chemotherapy drugs are designed to destroy cancer cells by stopping them from growing and multiplying. During chemotherapy, healthy cells also can be harmed, especially normal cells that grow and divide quickly. Harm to healthy cells is what causes side effects. Fortunately these normal cells are very resilient and usually repair themselves after chemotherapy.

Our goal is to help manage side effects so that you stay out of the hospital and on course
with your treatment. Understand that:

• Not everyone will have all the possible side effects.
• Some people won’t experience any side effects.
• No two people respond the same way to chemotherapy.
• New advances in medication management have made some of the side effects almost disappear.
• It may help to keep a journal of your treatment to help better understand how
  you respond to your treatment.