Usually, they’ll go to a hospital or physician’s workplace to get remedy (although, in some instances, the dose might be administered at dwelling). “You present up in your day of infusion, the place an infusion nurse then guides you thru the method of hanging and connecting you to the I.V. bag,” Dr. Avila explains. “Then, the liquid flows into your veins and goes all all through the physique, together with the most cancers cells.” (Yep, the chemo goes in every single place, not simply the issue spots—extra on that in a minute.)
Dr. Avila notes that an individual may get chemo from an I.V. alone, or they may take a capsule, obtain injections, or apply topical lotions alongside it—it actually relies on the kind of most cancers, the place it’s been detected, its stage, and what their total well being appears to be like like. And all of this may occur in tandem with different most cancers therapies, like radiation remedy or surgical procedure.
Chemotherapy classes can final anyplace from half-hour to a number of hours. However this isn’t a one-and-done situation—Dr. Avila most frequently treats her most cancers sufferers with 4 to 6 cycles. “After that time, we would shift to one thing referred to as a upkeep section the place we give a special kind of medicine that’s extra simply tolerated, both oral or I.V., to have the ability to forestall the most cancers from coming again.” (And regardless of what you may’ve heard within the information as of late, there’s “no such factor as ‘preventative’ chemotherapy,” she says.)
Why chemo might be so brutal on an individual’s physique
Eliminating harmful, rapid-growing cells is chemo’s number-one precedence—even when the medicine have to strike down noncancerous cells alongside the way in which. “Sadly, most chemotherapies aren’t nicely focused, that means they’ll hurt wholesome parts of the physique,” Dr. Landau explains. He notes that chemo tends to assault different naturally “fast-growing” (however innocent) cells too, which might be discovered within the reproductive system, bone marrow, hair follicles, and digestive tract, for instance. This implies the remedy can set off issues like constipation, ache and nerve issues, diarrhea, pores and skin adjustments, temper swings, mouth sores, and bruising and bleeding all through every cycle, Dr. Avila says. Hair loss, certainly one of chemo’s most seen unwanted effects, normally begins across the second cycle, she provides.
Most of those results are short-term, however some can linger for some time or occur later as soon as the chemo is accomplished, Knapp says. This might probably embrace points with fertility, early menopause, osteoporosis, nerve injury, and an elevated danger of growing different cancers.
As Dr. Avila stresses, chemo generally is a actually turbulent course of—bodily and emotionally. Generally an individual with most cancers will really feel snug disclosing their prognosis upfront, whereas one other may by no means open up about it. “It’s an evolution and a journey for each affected person. Lots of people like to remain conservative [with revealing details about their condition] for lengthy durations, significantly moms, particularly within the early levels of their remedy.” Knapp has additionally seen the method take a significant toll on her sufferers’ work and household lives—something that requires them to be energetic, engaged, and current. “The demanding remedy schedule, restoration durations, and unwanted effects of the medicine can disrupt each day routines and duties, including pressure to an already difficult scenario.”