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Doctor insights on: Is Chemotherapy Radioactive

Pills for cancer: Chemotherapy means drugs used to treat cancer. Most chemotherapy is given by injection, but some important chemotherapy drugs are taken by mouth, either as a tablet or capsule. A chemotherapy tablet is an example of the latter. ...Read more

It ranges from: Astoundingy beneficial (testis, lymphoma, leukemia. Myeloma, small cell lung) to pretty much worthless. .. To any cancer after two lines of treatment, now progressing with weight loss and spending most of the time in bed or chair. ...Read more

Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy can have many side effects. If you are receiving chemotherapy the benefit may outweight the risk. Talk to your oncologist about side effects of chemotherapy. ...Read more

Medicines: These are drugs and medications that are given by intravenous, intraarterial, or oral routes in most cases. The drugs are made by companies (pharmaceutical) who manufacture them from chemicals and molecules. ...Read more

Systemic therapy: Chemotherapy is a type of systemic therapy for cancer. Chemo can be given intravenously by IV or some chemo has oral formulations that can be taken by mouth. For certain cancers, like ovarian cancer, chemo can be given via intraperitoneal administration which is done through a surgically implanted catheter that allows passage of fluids into the abdomen of a woman. ...Read more

YES.: Chemotherapeutic agents can and do have significant toxicities and can lead to death. So (1) see a reallly good oncologist and (2) reseach carefully what the outcomes are from the agents being used. This is a highly regulated area of medicine - much knowledge is out there.
The difficulty, at time, s is that the choices between alternate therapies is confusing.
See a good oncologist... ...Read more

Short term help: For most malignancies other than renalcell and breast cancer, when the lesion has metastasized, control works in terms of months and no cure has been noted for solid tumors. Lymphomas are the exception where cure is seen. When a tumor is destroyed by chemo, malignant stem cells replace and regrow the tumor. ...Read more

It varies/depends on: It depends on your circumstances. Your doctor or nurse will educate you about what they are going to do to you. Just go with an open mind, it should be an educational experience. If they give you chemotherapy during this 'session', you may also be medicated with anti-nausea medication before chemo is given. This can sometimes make you sleepy. ...Read more

Oncologists: With current precautions (gloves, mixing under a hood, careful technique) you shouldn't have any more risk than any other kind of nurse. ...Read more

Need more details: Tell us more about the diagnosis for which this chemo was prescribed? There are also various drugs included in the acronym of VAC. Please spell out the full names of the chemo drugs included in the VAC advised by your doctor. Who is the patient? ...Read more

Tumor progress: Chemotherapy used in many different ways. It can be used with RT to minimize recurrence after surgery and improve the procedure in a neoadjuvant setting, used post op in an adjuvant setting to reduce recurrence and as a therapeutic in metastatic Ca. While prolonging survival in mets, it has resulted in no cures. Failure to respond to chemo leads to progression and a terminal event. ...Read more

Chemo: Stroke isn't common with chemo but can happen. Talk with the oncologist. ...Read more

Unlikely: It's unlikely that bursitis is caused by chemotherapy. I would consider an alternative answer. Your physician can help clarify why you have bursitis, is there a variety of other issues that need to be considered. ...Read more

PUVA (Psoralen+UVA): Photochemotherapy/phototherapy generally refers to puva therapy using psoralen (taken by mouth) and then later "tanning" to ultraviolet a light (uv-a) to treat various skin conditions like atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, urticaria, cutaneous t-cell lymphoma and skin manifestations of graft-versus-host disease. The psoralen makes the offending cells in the skin sensitive to damage from ultraviolet a. ...Read more

Maybe: Chemo can definitely reduce fertility. I discuss fertility with all patients of childbearing age, and offer sperm banking to men, and referral to a fertility expert for egg harvest for women.

Menstruation after chemo is generally a marker for fertility.

Chemo can induce damage to the genes in sperm and eggs, and patients shouldn't conceive during chemo due to risk of birth defects. ...Read more

Possible: Chemotherapy is a broad term for a large number of drugs used alone or in combination. Also the doses vary depending upon the disease. The are also variations in individual's susceptibility. There are also a large number of drugs used to combat side effects.
I can only say that it can be anything from very toxic to mild depending on the situation. ...Read more

Np?: Could you be more specific as to what "np" is, then we can help answer your question. ...Read more

Yes: Yes, definitely.

Varies with each dru: Many of the older drugs, widely used even now, are not too expensive. This includes nearly all of Chemotherapy drugs. The more modern drugs called targeted agents are more expensive, typically costing 6K-10K USD per rmonth. The brand new drugs in the last 5 years have started costing 10K-12K USD/month, which has created a lot of unrest in the medical community as it is no longer affordbable. ...Read more

Good question: But impossible to answer here. Depends on what cancer he has, what chemo he gets, how healthy he is, and many other factors that we do not know. Even so, people react differently to drugs so there is always a degree of uncertainty. You need to go over this with his oncologist before he gets the chemo. ...Read more

Yes: Thrombocytopenia, or low platelet count, is commonly caused by chemotherapy. ...Read more

Not necessarily: The start of chemo may cause hyperkalemia in certain cancers (leukemias, lymphoma).
Certain chemo can affect the kidneys causing hyperkalemia. But chemo is not always related to hyperkalemia. ...Read more

Bleeding: If platelet count is low, the answer will be YES ...Read more

Mostly: There are many side effects to chemotherapy and most get better with time. The exact side effects vary with different drugs. Some side effects like hair loss and nausea get better but certain side effects such as nerve damage (with specific drugs) or sterility (with specific drugs and dosages) may be permanent. ...Read more

Chemo before surgery: When chemotherapy is given before surgery it's called neoadjuvant. When chemo or radiation is given in addition to and after surgery it's called adjuvant. It is only describing the order of the treatments. ...Read more

Zofran (ondansetron)?: The more common issue is that the antinausea medicine causes the headache--especially zofran, (ondansetron) kytril, aloxi. So check your meds and ask your nurse or doctor. ...Read more

Many things: Chemotherapy kills cells that rapidly divide. These include hair cells and cells lining your stomach, intestines and mouth, and blood cells. Different chemotherapies have different side effects, but many cause hair loss, diarrhea and indigestion, mouth sores and decreased blood counts. Some cause heart damage, hearing loss, or nerve damage. ...Read more

Many possible: It all depends on what treatment you received and at what age you were treated (adult survivors of childhood cancer are at much increased risk). Late effects can include infertility, a secondary cancer, heart or kidney problems, and diabetes just to name a few. For someone treated when they were. ...Read more

DEPENDS: It all depends on the chemotherapy drug. Each has its own side effect profile and it does not mean that the person who receives it will experience the side effects associated with it. We all hear nausea, vomiting, tiredness and hair loss but again best thing is to talk to your treating oncologist and/or nurse. ...Read more

Tough question!: I am assuming the question is about you, but that may not be the case. I wonder if you are thinking of stopping chemotherapy because of side effects of medications. If so, ask your oncologist - there may be other chemotherapy medications that will work as well and give you less side effects. I always wonder about depression, too. Chemo - and cancer - can be a lot to handle. Get support for this! ...Read more