Facing a cancer diagnosis can be scary. It’s often filled with countless questions, some of which are about different types of chemotherapy. When patients first hear about chemo-treatment, almost everyone thinks about what’s involved. Many even believe in chemo-related misconceptions and start picturing their endless days in the hospital being administered drugs and IV drips. However, it’s far from reality. 

In this article, we have listed some interesting facts about chemotherapy that reveal its deeper intricacies, preparing you mentally for battling against all types of cancers. 

Chemotherapy for all Cancer Types: Learning 10 Surprising Facts

Are you diagnosed with cancer? Did your doctor suggest chemotherapy as an effective treatment? Let’s learn ten interesting facts about chemotherapy to better prepare for your treatment sessions:

1. Chemotherapy Isn’t Just One Drug

When people think of chemotherapy, they often imagine a single, harsh drug being used to combat all cancer. However, this is not the case. Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that involves a variety of different drugs. Sometimes, these drugs are used alone and other times, they can be used in combination to treat different cancer types. 

Since each drug works differently, targeting cancer cells in unique ways. Your doctor customises a cancer treatment plan based on the type of cancer you are diagnosed with and your overall health.

2. Chemo Drugs Can be Taken as Pills or Skin Cream

Chemotherapy drugs can be given through various routes, including oral administration, injectable methods (such as intramuscular or intravenous), intravenous infusion, intravesical, intrapleural, intraperitoneal, and others.

3. Chemotherapy Isn’t Always the First Line of Treatment

Contrary to popular belief, chemotherapy is not always the first treatment doctors recommend to patients diagnosed with cancer. Your healthcare provider might suggest surgery or radiation therapy as the initial treatment, depending on the type and stage of cancer. They may use chemotherapy afterwards to target any remaining cancer cells. Also, sometimes, chemo is employed in combination with other cancer treatments.

4. Chemotherapy May Require Stays in the Hospital

Are you not comfortable staying at the hospital for your chemo sessions? Don’t worry! A hospital may not be the only place to have your chemo sessions.

However, a few things need to be considered to determine where you can get chemotherapy, its type, and frequency, such as:

• The types of cancer and how advanced your cancer is
• Your goals and preferences
• Whether you had chemotherapy before
• Your other health issues, such as heart ailments or diabetes

5. Patients Might be Able to Continue Working During Chemo

You might think of chemotherapy as an overwhelming cancer treatment. However, this isn’t always the case. Some patients are able to work even during their chemo-treatment. Also, instead of working full-time or at the office, you can work part-time or from home without exhausting yourself.

6. Chemotherapy is Not Just for Shrinking Tumors

While chemotherapy is often used to shrink tumours, its purposes go beyond that. In some cases, your doctor might suggest palliative chemotherapy to control cancer growth, manage symptoms, and improve the quality of life for patients with advanced cancer. Other than that, different types of chemotherapy can be used to kill hidden cancer cells, preventing cancer from returning after surgery.

7. Chemotherapy May Have Long-Term Side Effects

While many are familiar with the common short-term side effects of chemotherapy—such as nausea, mood fluctuations, and fatigue—it's less widely known that some patients can experience long-term effects that may surface months or even years after completing treatment. These enduring side effects can include cardiovascular or respiratory issues, fertility challenges, and an elevated risk of developing a second cancer.

Over the past two decades, significant advancements have been made in chemotherapy, particularly with the introduction of new drugs. Innovations like nanoparticle formulations, liposomal therapies, and pegylated agents have emerged, offering improved efficacy and benefits with reduced side effects. Notably, some of these newer drugs do not lead to hair loss at all, highlighting the progress in cancer treatment options.

8. Selective Tumour Destruction with Chemo

Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) has been recently introduced as a chemotherapy treatment. A conjugate drug, ADC, is formulated by combining the targeted therapy (monoclonal antibody) and chemotherapy drug molecules via a biological linker.

What happens in this ADC treatment is that the targeted agent guides the chemotherapy drug to reach and go inside the cancerous tumour cells, enabling the chemotherapy molecule to selectively kill only cancerous cells. 

Therefore, with ADC enabling selective tumour cell destruction, you don’t have to worry about chemotherapy killing healthy cells or severe side effects.  

9. Chemotherapy May Affect Your Immune System

Chemotherapy can lead to a temporary decrease in immunity levels, primarily by lowering the white blood cell count (WBC) and absolute neutrophil count (ANC). Neutrophils are crucial for the body's initial response to infections, so when their levels drop, individuals become more vulnerable to infections due to a state known as neutropenia. Fortunately, this weakened immune response is typically short-lived; once the neutrophil count rebounds, overall immunity improves. Generally, chemotherapy does not result in prolonged immune suppression.

10. The Timing and Dosage are Critical for Effective Chemotherapy

One last fact you might not be aware of is that your chemotherapy’s effectiveness depends heavily on timing and dosage. Your doctor will carefully calculate when to administer the drugs and in what doses to maximise their effectiveness and minimise side effects. This is the reason why chemotherapy is often given in cycles. Doing so gives your body enough time to recover between treatments while continuing to attack cancer cells.

To wrap up it all!

Chemotherapy has come across as one of the most effective treatments to fight against different cancer types. While it can be a daunting and challenging procedure, understanding the surprising facts of chemo can help demystify the treatment and provide you with a clear picture of what to expect.