This information has been reviewed by:
Associate Professor Ian Davis MB BS (Hons) PhD FRACP FAChPM
Medical Oncologist, Austin Health. Assoc. Member, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.
Use the links above or the text below to learn more about chemotherapy or download a pdf of our latest Coping with Chemotherapy booklet below.
Doctors and other health professionals you may see
Does having chemotherapy hurt?
Chemotherapy can be time-consuming
How will I know if the treatment has worked?
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to treat cancer. It works by destroying or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy mainly affects fast-growing cells, like cancer cells. Other fast-growing cells can also be affected, like the cells that cause hair to grow. There are many different types of chemotherapy drugs. Usually, people have several at the same time. But sometimes peo-ple have only one drug.
The aim of chemotherapy may be to cure cancer, to relieve symptoms, to help other treatments work better or to improve survival.
Cure: Some cancers can be cured by chemotherapy on its own or combined with other treatments.
Relief of symptoms: Sometimes it is not possible to completely control cancer. However, chemotherapy can help people feel better. Symptoms such as pain may be relieved if the cancer is made smaller.
Together with other treatments: Chemotherapy can be used along with another treatment, such as surgery or radiotherapy. This is called adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy can be given either before or after surgery. When given before an operation, the drugs may make the cancer smaller. When given either before or after an operation, chemotherapy may destroy any cancer cells that have not been found but could cause the cancer to return.
Chemotherapy can also be given at the same time as radiotherapy. The combination of chemotherapy with radiation may be more effective than either treatment by itself.
To improve survival: Having adjuvant therapy may increase the chance of long-term survival. In some circumstances, even if the cancer cannot be cured, having chemotherapy may enable people to live longer.
Specialists and other health professionals who care for people having chemotherapy include:
This will depend on the type of cancer you have and the drugs that are used. Chemotherapy can be given in several ways: into a vein, by mouth, as an injection, or applied on the skin.
When you have chemotherapy there will often be a period of treatment followed by a break. This is called a cycle of treatment. The number of treatments and their frequency will depend upon the type of cancer and the drugs used. In general, people have chemotherapy over six to twelve months. However, you may have it for shorter or longer periods. Discuss this with your doctor.
People usually have chemotherapy drugs through a needle in a vein (intravenously) during visits to the hospital or a clinic. Alternatively, you may need to stay at the hospital for a day or more (it can be up to a week).
If you have short-term chemotherapy (up to a day's treat-ment), you will have a thin needle inserted into a vein in your hand or lower arm at the start of each treatment session. The needle will be used to place a small plastic tube (‘cannula') into the vein. The needle will be removed and the cannula left in the vein throughout the treatment session. A session may take from a few minutes to a few hours.
If the chemotherapy needs to go continuously for several days, a longer, soft, thin, flexible tube can be put into a large vein, usually in the upper arm or chest. These are called lines (sometimes PICC lines), catheters or access devices. They are inserted in an x-ray department (radiology) or operating theatre. The line can remain there as long as it is needed. Drugs can be given and blood samples can be taken through them.
A few centimetres of the tubing sits outside the vein and is usually taped to the skin. Sometimes a catheter is attached to a port. A port is a small, round, plastic or metal disc placed under the skin. The port can be used for as long as it is needed. The port is like a small con-tainer that drugs can be injected into. If your veins are hard to access, a line or port will make it easier to have the chemotherapy and blood tests.
A pump is sometimes used. This stores the drug and controls how fast it goes into a catheter or port. There are two types of pumps. An external pump remains outside the body in a belt holster or bag. This allows you to move around while the pump is being used.
An internal pump is placed under the skin during surgery. Pumps allow people to go about their normal activities and allow some people to have their chemotherapy at home. If you are going home with a pump, a nurse will show you how to care for it. They will also discuss what to do in the unlikely event of the pump leaking.
Lines and catheters need to be kept clean to prevent infection or blockage. Your nurse will show you how to do this. Catheters, lines, ports, and pumps cause no pain if they are properly placed and cared for, although if you have one you will be aware of it. It is important to report any pain or discomfort with these devices to your doctor or nurse.
You may take some or all of the chemotherapy by mouth (tablets or capsules). If you have tablets or capsules to swallow, you will be able to have your chemotherapy at home.
Oral forms of chemotherapy drugs are becoming more widely used. They can be just as effective as intravenous drugs.
A needle and syringe may be used to inject the drug into a muscle, into the fluid around the spine, into an artery, into the chest cavity or directly into the cancer or an organ.
The drug is applied on the surface of the skin in a cream.
Chemotherapy drugs travel around your body and destroy certain cells. The cells most affected by chemotherapy are those that multiply rapidly, such as cancer cells. Some normal cells which multiply rapidly (like hair cells or blood cells) may also be affected by chemotherapy. However, normal cells can renew themselves better than cancer cells. The rest periods between chemotherapy treatments allow your normal cells to recover before the next treatment.
No matter which way it is given (such as in a vein or by mouth), chemotherapy travels in your blood to reach cancer cells in your body. The rate at which cancer cells are destroyed varies with each type of cancer and the drugs used.
Having chemotherapy by mouth, on the skin or by injection is like having other medications by these methods. Having chemotherapy intravenously feels, at the start, like having blood taken. Some people feel coolness or another unusual sensation in the area of the needle. Report such feelings to your doctor or nurse. It is not painful unless the drugs cause an irritation. Report any pain, discomfort or burning sensation that occurs during or after treatment with intravenous chemotherapy.
Many people have little or no trouble having the needle put into their hand or lower arm. However, if you have problems for any reason, or if it becomes difficult to insert the needle into a vein for each treatment, it may be possible to have a line inserted (see information in the section titled, ‘How is chemotherapy given?'). Local anaesthetic creams can help.
You will probably spend a lot of time in hospital or a clinic: waiting for the doctor, for blood tests, for the results of blood tests or for your chemotherapy drugs to be made up and given.
People cope in different ways, depending on how well they feel and what their needs are. Reading a book or a magazine, listening to music or talking to a friend can provide distraction. Or you may just want to look around, write in a journal, think or meditate.
At first, it may be scary seeing people who are sick from cancer or treatment. You will get used to this. You will probably find people quite friendly and willing to talk, if that is what you wish.
It may help to ask how long your wait will be. If you need to be finished by a certain time, tell the receptionist, nurse or doctor.
After finishing your course of treatment, you will talk with your doctor and have several medical tests and examinations, often called staging tests. These tests will show if the cancer has gone away. If the cancer has gone away, it is great news; however it will be several years before it is considered to be cured. This is because sometimes cancer can shrink to the point where it is not detected, but it may still come back in the same place (recurrent cancer), or grow in another part of the body.
If you have chemotherapy as a palliative treatment, the relief of symptoms may tell you if the treatment has worked, but you will probably also need to have scans after a couple of months to see if the cancer has shrunk.
Download and print your personal chemotherapy record below, and then ask your doctor or nurse to help you to complete this record.
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Coping with chemotherapy: a guide for people with cancer, their families and friends |
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Your personal chemotherapy record |
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