Chemotherapy, also known as ‘chemo’, is the treatment of cancer using drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs target cells that divide and grow quicker than healthy cells and prevent them from making more cells. Chemotherapy works throughout the whole body, destroying cancer cells more rapidly than it destroys healthy cells.
However, chemotherapy can affect fast-growing cells such as hair, skin, intestines and bone marrow, causing some of the side effects experienced during treatment.
The goals of treatment differ depending on the type of cancer and how far it has spread. Sometimes the goal is to destroy all the cancer cells and keep the cancer from returning. In other cases, treatment is used to slow the growth of cancer cells, prevent spread, or ease symptoms caused by the cancer.
Chemotherapy may be given by mouth or intravenously (an injection into a vein). All OncoCare centres have in-house chemotherapy suites, staffed by nurses trained and experienced in the administration of chemotherapy.
This information is general and is not a substitute for medical advice. Treatment recommendations depend on each person's individual clinical circumstances and are made together with your oncologist.