Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill cancer cells.
It is also known as cytotoxic chemotherapy or cytotoxic cancer medicine. Cytotoxic means toxic to cells.
There are many different types of chemotherapy medicine, but they all work in a similar way.
How chemotherapy works
Chemotherapy medicines disrupt the way cancer cells grow and divide. They stop cancer cells reproducing. This stops them from growing and spreading in your body.
Chemotherapy also damages healthy cells in your body. This is what causes side effects. But your healthy cells can usually recover and most side effects will go away after treatment finishes.
When you might have chemotherapy
Your healthcare team may recommend treatment with chemotherapy.
This can depend on:
- your overall health
- the type of cancer you have
- any treatment you have had already
- how far your cancer has spread (the stage)
- your consent and wishes
You may have chemotherapy on its own or with other treatments.
Chemotherapy is the main type of treatment for some cancers, for example lymphomas and leukaemias.
Your healthcare team may recommend chemotherapy to:
- try to cure the cancer completely
- shrink a tumour before surgery
- make radiotherapy work better (chemoradiation)
- reduce the risk of cancer coming back after surgery or radiotherapy
If your cancer cannot be cured you may have palliative chemotherapy to:
- relieve symptoms
- help you live longer
What chemoradiation is
When radiotherapy and chemotherapy are used together this is known as chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy). Chemotherapy can help make radiotherapy work better.
You might have chemoradiation if:
- surgery is not suitable
- before surgery to shrink a tumour, to help increase the chance of successful surgery
- to reduce the risk of cancer coming back after surgery
Deciding to have chemotherapy
Your healthcare team will talk to you about the treatment options they think is best for you. But the final decision is yours.
Deciding to have cancer treatment
Routine tests and checks
You'll have tests:
- before treatment to check your general health
- during treatment to check your progress