Every day more and more people are diagnosed with some form of cancer. Some are treatable with chemotherapy alone, while others need radiotherapy and sometimes surgery. Many times people tend to get radiation therapy and chemotherapy confused or think they are the same thing or work in the same ways. They are two different types of treatments used in different ways, and work in different ways to help battle cancers.
Chemotherapy can also treat non-cancerous tumors as well as cancerous ones. There are 50 different chemotherapy drugs and many times some are combined to help combat the illness. There are 200 different cancers that respond to the use of chemotherapy. Different cancers use different chemotherapy drugs. It’s all based on where the cancer started, where is it, and how the cancer formed. Although chemotherapy kills the cancerous cells, it also kills the good red and white blood cells, so many cancer patients need to get shots to help increase those counts. Chemotherapy is given in a series of sessions, and a series of sessions is a cycle. The goal of chemotherapy is to stop the cancer cells from reproducing and dividing. It helps cure cancers, reduce the chance of re-occurrence and prolongs life. Chemotherapy is generally used before an operation to shrink the tumor and weaken it’s attachment. It’s also used after operations to destroy the tiny cells that could have been left over and the ones that couldn’t be removed. It’s also used along side radiation therapy to add the the effects of both treatments. It’s used in advanced cancers to rid the cancer from the patient’s body, shrink it or control the tumor and extend the patient’s life.
As with any type of medication there are side effects. The most common are nausea, a metal taste in the mouth, fatigue, and chemo-related anemia. There are also very severe side effects such as cardiotoxicity which is heart damage this is seen in weaker hearts. Hepatotxicity is liver damage because the drugs run through to the liver, there is also kidney damage and ear damage which is caused by withdrawal from the chemotherapy drugs.
Radiation therapy on the other hand is less severe than chemotherapy. It uses x-rays to destroy the cancer cells in a specific spot. The rays are applied directly to the tumor instead of running through the blood vessels. It’s used to cure cancers as chemotherapy is, and is sometimes used as a precaution. It is a more precise treatment because it’s based on type, size, location and stage of the cancer. Many patients have said it is less painful that chemotherapy. Side effects for radiotherapy occur after it is done. Some effects don’t appear until several years down the road. Some side effects includes tiredness, loss of appetite, change in blood and sensitive skin.
There are differences in the treatments of cancer based on the type, stage, and location of the cancer. There are times when both can be used, but other times when it is unwise to use both treatments. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are just two ways to help cure cancers. Talking to your oncologist helps you understand the differences between the treatments.
