Chemotherapy

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Definition | Body Parts Involved | Reasons for Procedure | Complications | What to Expect | Outcome | Call Doctor If

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Definition

The use of drugs to kill cancer cells

Parts of the Body Involved

This depends on how the chemotherapy is given.

Reasons for Procedure

To treat cancer

Risk Factors for Complications during the Procedure

• History of allergies
• Debilitation

What to Expect

Prior to Procedure - You may be asked to take some pre-medications, such as steroids, allergy medications (anti-histamines), anti-nausea medications, sedatives, and antibiotics

During Procedure - You'll be given the chemotherapy medication(s) by whichever route your physician thinks best. At the same time, you may be given other medications to fight the side effects of chemotherapy, including steroids, allergy medications (anti-histamines), anti-nausea medications, sedatives, and antibiotics

Anesthesia - None

Description of the Procedure – Chemotherapy drugs may be given in several ways:

• By mouth
• By injection into a muscle or vein (intravenously)
• By catheter into the bladder, abdomen, chest cavity, brain, or spinal cord
• By application to the skin

After Procedure - You may be given any of the following:

• Medications to take at home to make you more comfortable, such as anti-nausea drugs
• Injections of an immune-system boosting drug several days after your chemotherapy has been administered, to increase your white blood cells and fight potential infections
• Other drugs, including steroids, allergy medications (anti-histamines), anti-nausea medications, sedatives, and antibiotics

How Long Will It Take? This depends on the route used, the number of medications prescribed, and the amount of each medication. Therefore, a session may be as brief as the time it takes to swallow a pill, or it may take several hours or overnight for intravenous medications to be dripped slowly into your veins.

Will It Hurt? Chemotherapy may cause a number of uncomfortable side effects and complications. However, the administration of the chemotherapy treatment does not usually hurt, unless the intravenous needle is misplaced and medication leaks into your tissues. If this happens, tell your doctor or nurse, so that the problem can be corrected and damage to your skin and tissues can be avoided.

Possible Complications:

• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Appetite loss
• Hair loss
• Anemia
• Weakened immune system and increased susceptibility to infection
• Intense fatigue
• Decreased platelet count and easy bruising and/or bleeding
• Mouth sores
• Numbness, tingling, or weakness due to nerve damage
• Kidney damage
• Damage to the heart muscle
• Infertility
• Cessation of the menstrual period

Average Hospital Stay - Chemotherapy is typically performed as an outpatient procedure. However, if you experience excessive vomiting, you may need to be admitted to the hospital to receive IV fluids with your chemotherapy treatments.

Postoperative Care:

• Get a lot of sleep
• Try to eat as healthfully as possible, even though you may not have an appetite
• Drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration and to flush the medications out of your kidneys as quickly as possible
• Use special mouth rinses to avoid or treat mouth sores
• Administer post-chemotherapy shots if they are prescribed by your doctor; these will help to keep your white blood count stable

Outcome

Chemotherapy should help decrease the number of cancer cells, and shrink tumors.

Your doctor may order any of the following tests to monitor the progress of your treatment:

• Blood tests
• Urine tests
• X-rays
• Ultrasound – a test that uses sound waves to find tumors
• MRI scan – a test that uses magnetic waves to make pictures of the inside of the body
• CT scan – a type of x-ray that uses a computer to make pictures of the inside of the body
• Bone scans – a type of x-ray that shows areas of unusual activity
• Bone marrow biopsies – the removal of a sample of bone marrow for examination

Call Your Doctor If Any of the Following Occurs

• Sores in your mouth or lip blisters
• White patches in your mouth
• Difficulty/pain with swallowing
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Vomiting that prevents you from holding down fluids
• Blood in your vomit
• Easy bruising
• Nosebleeds, bleeding gums, new vaginal bleeding
• Blood in your urine or stool
• Burning or frequency of urination
• Chest pain
• Severe weakness
• Shortness of breath, cough
• Calf pain
• Abnormal vaginal discharge, itching, or odor
• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Pain in a new location
• Numbness, tingling, or pain in your extremities
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or a "pimple" at the site of your IV
• Headache, stiff neck
• Hearing or vision changes
• Exposure to someone with an infectious illness, including chicken pox

SOURCES:

National Cancer Institute

National Institutes of Health

Clinical Oncology, 2nd ed. Churchill Livingstone, 2000.

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Last reviewed March 2001 by Medical Review Board