CHEMOTHERAPY

Chemotherapy is a type of drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cancer cells. It is an effective way to treat cancer and over three hundred regimens are used in MLCC to treat different cancers.

Chemotherapy can be divided into three sectors – Adjuvant chemotherapy, Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and Palliative chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is prescribed to:

  • Cure the cancer without other treatments: Chemotherapy may be the only treatment for a particular type of cancer.
  • Kill hidden cancer cells after other treatments: It can be used in addition to other treatments or after surgery to maximise its effectiveness.
  • Prepare patients for other treatments. It can be used to shrink a tumour so that other treatments such as surgery and radiation are possible.
  • Ease the signs and symptoms of cancer.

Adjuvant chemotherapy

Adjuvant chemotherapy is chemo that you get after your primary treatment, such as surgery or radiation to destroy remaining cancer cells and prevent a possible cancer recurrence. Examples of Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, or biological therapy. Most common types of cancer treated adjuvantly: Breast cancer, Lung cancer, Colon cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Is when you get chemo before your primary treatment to help reduce the size of a tumour or kill cancer cells that have spread so that the surgical procedure may not need to be as extensive. Examples of Neoadjuvant therapy include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. It is a type of induction therapy. Most common types of cancer treated neoadjuvantly: Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Colon Cancer.

Palliative chemotherapy

Palliative chemotherapy is treatment that is given in the non-curative setting to optimize symptom control, improve or maintain quality of life and, ideally, to also improve survival. It addresses symptom management without expecting to significantly reduce the cancer. Most common types of cancer treated Palliatively: Pancreatic cancer, Non-small cell lung cancer. Breast cancer