5 FU Chemotherapy

5-Fluorouracil is a chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer. 5-Fluorouracil chemotherapy is used treat colon cancer, rectal cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer and gastrointestinal cancers. 5 Fluorouracil is also known as 5FU or Adrucil. It is a cytotoxic chemotherapy drug which is classified as an antimetabolite.

5 FU chemotherapy drug is injected into the vein using intravenous (IV) method or as an infusion. Schedule of the treatment and amount of drugs depend on the specific chemotherapy protocol. It can be given for several hours to several weeks.

5 FU is also applied topically. A topical cream of 5 FU is applied on the affected skin as a thin coating. It is applied twice a day. Amount of 5 FU used in the treatment depends on various factors like physical state of the patient (weight and height), overall health of patient, other health related problems and type and stage of the cancer. After considering all the factors, doctor will prepare treatment schedule.

5 FU chemotherapy has some side effects as it also destroy the normal body cells. Some common side effects associated with 5 FU chemotherapy are diarrhea, nausea, mouth sores, low appetite, eye problems, low blood cells counts, anemia, bleeding and risk of infection. These side effects are temporary and disappear once the treatment is over.

Consult your doctor about the chemotherapy schedule before your treatment starts. Also seek doctors’ advice in situations like high fever or chills.

CMF Chemotherapy

CMF chemotherapy is used for the treatment of the breast cancer. In CMF chemotherapy, drugs used are:

• Cyclophosphamide
• Methotrexatea
• Fluorouracil (5FU)

CMF treatment is given to patient as a day patient. Before the start of treatment (either on the same day or few day before), blood test is taken. Also your doctor or nurse takes the physical test. If the results of the treatments are normal, doctor will go ahead with the treatment. They will prepare chemotherapy treatment schedule which include chemotherapy drugs, method of administration.

A flexible tube is put in the vein to administer the chemotherapy drugs. Some time a thin plastic tube is inserted under the skin into a vein. It is inserted in the vein near the collarbone or a vein in their arm. Some anti sickness drugs or tablets are also given to patient during the treatment.

The drugs used in CMF chemotherapy are administered separately. Cyclophosphamide is given intravenously as a drip. Methotrexate is injected along with a drip of salt water or saline into the cannula. Flourocial is also injected in the same way. The whole treatment takes around one hour time.

There is no specific order for giving the drugs. However, cyclophosphamide is given first. Patients can go home once the treatment over. However, they have to take their anti-sickness drugs regularly. These drugs are provided by the doctor.

CMF chemotherapy has side effects associated with it. Each patient reacts to CF chemotherapy differently. Some patients have fewer side effects, while others experience more side effects. Some side effects associated with CMF chemotherapy are lowered resistance to infection, hair loss, bleeding, anemia, mouth sores, diarrhea and tiredness. Consult your doctor if you are experiencing any side effects during the treatment.

Chemotherapy Pills

Chemotherapy is used for cancer treatment. Drugs are used to kill the cancer cells. These drugs are administered using various methods like intravenous, intramuscular or oral. Chemotherapy pills are effective in the treatment of colorectal cancer intravenously. In case of advanced cancer, this treatment is more effective than other intravenous treatment.

Comparatively, oral chemotherapy has fewer side effects than intravenous chemotherapy. Oral chemotherapy treatment gives better quality than intravenous chemotherapy to the patients. Chemotherapy treatment has some side effects associated with it whether it is oral or intravenous.

Capecitabine pill is for the treatment of colorectal cancer. It has few side effects. Capecitabine is also known as Xeloda which shrinks the tumor. When capecitabine is absorbed into body, it is converted into 5-FU. It is proved that patients taking Xeloda live longer (about 23 months in average) longer than those who are taking intravenous chemotherapy. Xeloda is used as single drug or in combination of other drug.

Capecitabine is used extensively by the patients as it is very effective and has fewer side effects. Patients prefer to take 5FU in the pill form rather than intravenous form. Chemotherapy pills are supposed to target tumor cells and very active.

Patients suffering from cancer respond to oral chemotherapy more than standard chemotherapy. Side effects like nausea, diarrhea, hair loss, fatigue and tract ulcers are rare in patients who are taking the chemotherapy pills. Pills are less toxic and more effective than intravenous chemotherapy. However, side effects such as redness and soreness may occur.

Chemotherapy Nausea

Chemotherapy treatment causes various side effects. One of the most common side effects of chemotherapy is nausea. Nausea seems to be harmless side effect. However, it becomes serious sometime. Nausea may lead to loss of appetite. Loss of appetite may lead to dehydration which is serious.

Even though, nausea is common side effects, everyone undergoing chemotherapy will not experience it. One can also reduce chemotherapy nausea through change in diet and medication.

Take small meals throughout the day even though you feel hungry. If you are going to eat large amount then wait till the nausea has passed. Avoid oily and fatty food during the treatment. Drink liquids at room temperature. Avoid cool and hot fluid as it may increase nausea.

Take proper rest after your meal. Rest in upright position and do not lie down completely. It will help for digestion. Also avoid strong scents or odors as well as favorite foods. It may increase your nausea. Also avoid smoking. Smoking can upset your digestion and may lead to nausea.

If you are suffering form nausea, consult your physician immediately. Physician may prescribe you some medications or ask you to drink fluid to relieve nausea. However, do not take any medication without consulting to your physician for any of your side effect including nausea.

Chemotherapy and Radiation

Radiation Therapy

In radiation therapy, energy rays like x-rays or gamma rays and particles (electrons and neutrons) are used to eradicate rapidly growing cancer cells. In this therapy, external beam focuses on the cancer part of the body. Radiation therapy is mostly used to treat laryngeal as well as hypo pharyngeal cancer. Radiation chemotherapy is given daily for seven weeks. Generally it is given five days per week. Other schedules for radiation doses have been under trial.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy is used as primary treatment to treat laryngeal and hypo pharyngeal cancer. Radiation therapy can be also used as adjuvant treatment after surgery.

Radiation is divided into no of doses, known as hyper fractionation. Some time two doses are given per day instead of one. In accelerated fractionation, radiation therapy is completed within five weeks (instead of seven weeks). Such accelerated fractionation and hyper fractionation minimize the risks of cancer recurrence. However these therapies also increase the sternness of side effects and fail to improve survival rates.

Radiation chemotherapy is associated with side effects which include skin problems, sore throat, dry mouth, decrease in taste, swallowing difficulty, tiredness, and breathing problems. These side effects are temporary and go away in some time.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment. In chemotherapy treatment, anticancer drugs are administered in the body. These drugs reach all parts of body via blood stream. Chemotherapy is used to treat various cancer including head and neck cancer.

Recently chemotherapy is used along with radiation therapy to treat advanced staged head and neck cancer. Chemotherapy drugs attack cancer cells and prohibit them from growing. Usually, combination of two or more drugs is used.

Chemotherapy treatment has some side effects associated with it. Some of the side effects of chemotherapy are fatigue, nausea, hair loss, tiredness and low blood counts. These side effects are temporary in nature and disappear after some time.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy

In adjuvant chemotherapy, drugs are given as added treatment for patients. Mostly it is applied to kill the cancer cells which are present outside their original cancer sites. Adjuvant chemotherapy has been successful in some type of cancers like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and testicular cancer.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is mostly applied after surgery. After surgery, various tests are conducted. It is assumed that if tests are negative, there no cancer. However, fact is negative means no detectable cancer. Cancer cell are very tiny. It is possible that they spread outside of original place and not detected in the tests. Such patients need to take adjuvant chemotherapy.

There are various chemotherapy drugs which are given in adjuvant chemotherapy depending on the type of cancer. However, larger is the cancer at diagnosis, bigger is the chance of cancer cells left behind.

It is hard to tell whether chemotherapy treatment is working. Cancer cells are very tiny and hide in relatively large organs so it becomes difficult to deal with them. So follow up treatment becomes necessary in the adjuvant chemotherapy. Follow up treatment consists of some lab tests which help in determining cancer. Lab tests consist of blood tests, X-rays and CT scan. They are conducted periodically.

Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is used extensively to treat breast cancer. Breast cancer chemotherapy is applied in different ways.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy

In adjuvant chemotherapy, drugs are given to patients to stop recurrence of cancer after the radiation therapy or surgery. In breast cancer, it is highly possible that cancer cells spread other areas of the body. Such cancer cells are killed using medication.

Neo-adjuvant Chemotherapy

Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is applied prior to surgery. Sometimes, it is required to shrink the size of the tumor to make surgery easier.

Various chemotherapy drugs are used to treat breast cancer. They are doxorubicin (Adriamycin), doxil, epirubicin, docetaxel, paclitaxel, 5 fluorouracil, gemcitabine and herceptin.

Chemotherapy is applied in cycles. Duration of chemotherapy cycles is 2 to 4 weeks. Mostly combination of two or more drugs is used to treat breast cancer. However, single drug therapy is applied when cancer spread to other areas.

There are various methods by which chemotherapy drugs are administered. It may be taken orally, intravenously, injected into muscle or applied on skin. Whatever may be the method of administration; chemotherapy drugs are absorbed in blood and kill the cancer cell.

Though chemotherapy drugs are effective in killing cancer cells, they also kill healthy body cell in the process. Side effects associated with breast chemotherapy are nausea, fatigue, hair loss, low while blood cell counts and diarrhea. However, do not take any medicine without consulting your physicians if you are suffering from any of the above conditions.

About Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is used to treat cancer. In chemotherapy treatment, different types of drugs or medicines are used to treat the cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy eradicate the cancer cells in the body. Chemotherapy is used to for two different purposes. Chemotherapy can be used to control or remove tumors in order to alleviate pain. It is know as palliative chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also used to avoid the recurrence of cancer especially after surgery or radiation. This chemotherapy type is known as adjuvant or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy drugs are administered in different ways. However, mostly it is given orally, topical, or intravenously (IV). There are various other methods of giving chemotherapy; however they are not so common. In chemotherapy treatment, different chemotherapy drugs are used, each drug is effective fort particular cancer treatment.

In chemotherapy, frequency and length of chemotherapy varies according to type of cancer, stage of cancer, health of the patient, chemotherapy drug used. Patients need to follow the treatment plan provided by the oncologists.

Chemotherapy treatment is used for treating different types of cancer including breast cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer and many others. Drugs used to treat for specific cancer are different.

Though chemotherapy drugs treat the caner by eradicating the cancer cell, it has some side effects associated with it. Chemotherapy therapy also affects normal body cells along with cancer cells. It causes some unwanted side effects including hair loss, nausea, diarrhea, weakness, loss of appetite and infertility. It also affects organs like heart, nerve damage, kidney and lung. In order to avoid or limit the side effects of chemotherapy, patients need to take balanced diet, limit their activities and take sufficient sleep. Also consult your physician before taking any medicine.