Do you know how chemotherapy works?

Do you know the phases of chemotherapy? Well, it’s important to know how they work so you’ll be calm in relation of what is coming. Besides that, it’s essential that you get rid of any doubts about what is really true and don’t pay attention to people who don’t know how the procedure works and spread wrong information.

In this post, we’ll clarify the phases of chemotherapy and you’ll comprehend what are the side effects of the procedure and what are its importance on treatment against cancer. Keep reading and find out!

What is the importance of chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy’s main goal is to fight the cells which are responsible for the generation of cancerous tumors. It is an essential treatment since every medication used on the procedure acts in different steps of the tumor’s growth and it prevents it from spreading to other organs (metastasis).

In some cases, chemotherapy can be associated with other treatments such as surgery and radiotherapy. There are situations, however, that it can be the only procedure prescribed and used to fight the disease.

What are the phases of chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is composed by different steps. The main ones are as follows:

Adjuvant Chemotherapy

This phase is managed after the surgery. Its main goal is to eliminate the remaining cancerous cells and, therefore, get the chances of the patient’s heal higher. It’s important to emphasize that adjuvant chemotherapy reduces the risk of the disease’s reappearance.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has as its goal to reduce the size of the tumor as to facilitate its removal on the surgery. For that reason, it’s done before the surgery and happens when there’s locally advanced tumors. It also allows verifying how the cancer responds to the treatment.

Chemotherapy to metastatic disease

This step of chemotherapy is for patients who already have metastasis. That is, it is used when the disease is in other parts of the body as well.

What are the side effects?

Although chemotherapy has as its goal to destroy cancerous cells in development, unfortunately, it also affects the healthy ones. Between them are the cells responsible for action on the digestive system, blood, and the ones that make you hair grow. Its side effects include wounds on the mouth, pain, nausea, vomit and hair loss.

However, the development of side effects depend on the quantity of chemotherapy and obviously, how your body reacts to it. The lasting of it depends on the type of chemotherapy, therefore, it’s important to talk to your doctor when it happens.

Understanding the phases of chemotherapy is fundamental to prepare yourself to overcome this delicate moment. The support of family and friends is really important to relieve the pressure and fear of the next procedures.

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