Do not be afraid of chemotherapy

Chemotherapy works on how cancer cells reproduce, interfering with the body's cell cycle. The medication that is administered "travels" through the blood, so it can reach all cancer cells that exist.

However, drugs that are used in chemotherapy also affect healthy cells, which is why some specific side effects are derived. The big difference is that the damage to healthy cells is temporary and its consequences will disappear when the treatment ends, according to information from the English portal specialized in adolescent cancer: Teen Info for Cancer (www.click4tic.org.uk).

There are many types of drugs for chemotherapy, and in the event that cancer attacks an adolescent, it is likely that more than one type will be used to fight it. This type of treatment is called combination chemotherapy.

What does chemotherapy do?

  • Most of the cells in our body divide to make a copy of themselves in case it is needed at some point.
  • Cancer cells normally divide themselves with much faster that normal cells, the faster they reproduce, the more aggressive the type of cancer is.
  • Chemotherapy finds and kills cancer cells when they are dividing (and because they divide quickly it is easy to identify them), to prevent their accelerated growth from invading more parts of your body.

Chemo also stumbles on healthy cells

  • Sometimes chemo also kills healthy cells because they stumble in their path at the time of their division, and it is because of this that the body resents side effects.
  • Cells like those of the mouth and the hair They quickly divide themselves, so they are also usually attacked by chemotherapy, this is the reason why people with cancer often lose their hair and feel pain in their mouths.
  • All the cells in the body contain a DNA, which is a specific program that tells the cells what they have to do. This means that the body is able to create more healthy cells from your DNA to replace those you have lost and recover from the side effects caused by chemotherapy.
  • The DNA in the cancer cells is damaged during the process, so it is impossible for them to reproduce from the original.


Video Medicine: Chemotherapy: What to Expect | IU Health Cancer Centers (March 2024).