How Chemo Works
Chemotherapy drugs are carried throughout the body
through the bloodstream. They are able to reach
cells anywhere in the body, including those that
have broken away and spread elsewhere. Some cancers,
such as leukemia, need chemotherapy because the
cancer cells are in the blood and therefore all over
the body.
When a solid tumour is removed through surgery,
doctors may also prescribe chemotherapy to “mop up”
any remaining cancer cells in the body.
Chemotherapy has to be
carefully planned so that it harms the rapidly
dividing unhealthy (cancerous) cells before causing
too much harm to the healthy rapidly dividing cells
in the body. For this reason, doctors may use a
combination of chemotherapy drugs, at high or low
doses and at different times, creating an individual
treatment plan for each child. The aim of this is to
eliminate the cancer and minimize side effects
associated with the drugs. |
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