Page last updated: February 2024
The information on this webpage has been adapted from Understanding Chemotherapy - A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends (2022 edition). This webpage was last updated in February 2024.
Expert content reviewers:
This information was developed with help from a range of health professionals and people affected by cancer who have had chemotherapy. We thank the reviewers of this booklet:
- Prof Timothy Price, Medical Oncologist, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, SA
- Graham Borgas, Consumer: Dr Joanna Dewar, Medical Oncologist and Clinical Professor, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and The University of Western Australia, WA
- Justin Hargreaves, Medical Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Bendigo Health Cancer Centre, VIC
- Angela Kritikos, Senior Oncology Dietitian, Dietetic Department, Liverpool Hospital, NSW
- Dr Kate Mahon, Director of Medical Oncology, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW
- Georgie Pearson, Consumer; Chris Rivett, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA
- Marissa Ryan, Acting Consultant Pharmacist (Cancer Services), Pharmacy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, QLD
For some types of cancer, you may be given chemotherapy as part of another treatment, such as a stem cell transplant or radiation therapy, or in combination with other drug therapies.
High-dose chemotherapy
High-dose chemotherapy is given as part of a stem cell transplant for blood cancers, such as leukaemia or lymphoma. It kills off all the cancer cells before the new, healthy blood cells are transplanted. The transplant may occur a day or two later.
Chemoradiation
Also called chemoradiotherapy, this is when chemotherapy is given at the same time as the course of radiation. It is used for some cancers, such as bowel cancer, and aims to make the radiation therapy more effective.
Hormone therapy
Some cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer, can grow in response to hormones. Drugs that block these hormones may be given as tablets or injections. Used in combination with chemotherapy.
Targeted therapy
Often used in combination with chemotherapy, targeted therapy drugs may be given intravenously or as tablets. See our Understanding Targeted Therapy fact sheet.
Immunotherapy
May be given as tablets or injections, alongside chemotherapy.
Find out more about immunotherapy.