2 September 2020 Oncological diseases, or cancer, can be treated with local treatments - surgery and radiotherapy - and with systemic treatments - chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, among others. Chemotherapy is a treatment in which drugs are used that have marked toxic effects on tumor cells and that therefore destroy them. The drugs used in chemotherapy treatments are not always the same , they vary with different oncological diseases, their specificities and stage of evolution (staging), and patients. Most chemotherapy drugs are administered intravenously (into the veins); some are administered by mouth. Regardless the medicines administration route, chemotherapy is always a systemic treatment, that is, it affects the entire body. Medicines are transported by blood that distributes it throughout the body so that they reach the desired location. Even when administration is not made directly into the blood, the drugs are absorbed into the blood. Because it is a systemic treatment, chemotherapy can also have toxic effects on normal cells, which are manifested by undesirable side effects at the level of all body systems. Not all chemotherapy treatments have the same side effects. The same treatment may also not have the same effects, or they may not have the same severity in everyone. Find out what are the most common undesirable side effects of chemotherapy and how you can alleviate them: Meet the Oncology team of Hospital da Luz network. The content published in the Health Guide is intended for the general public and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not replace individual medical assessment, diagnosis, or personalized clinical advice from a qualified healthcare professional. The content is produced or reviewed by physicians and other healthcare professionals at Hospital da Luz and is based on the knowledge available at the time of publication or the most recent update, as indicated at the beginning of each item.
