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Chemotherapy: Some
useful facts How not to suffer
breast pain Health
Notes
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Chemotherapy: Some useful facts More than 100 chemo drugs are used in many combinations. A single chemo drug can be used to treat cancer. But in most cases the drugs work better when used in certain combinations. This is called combination chemotherapy. A combination of drugs with different actions can work together to kill more cancer cells. It can also reduce the chance that the cancer may become resistant to any one chemo drug. What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy (also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. How does chemotherapy work? Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly. But it can also harm healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those that line your mouth and intestines or cause your hair to grow. Damage to healthy cells may cause side-effects. Often, side-effects get better or go away after chemotherapy is
over. What does chemotherapy do? Depending on your type of cancer and how advanced it is, chemotherapy can do the following: Cure cancer — when chemotherapy destroys cancer cells to the point that your doctor can no longer detect them in your body and they will not grow back. Control cancer — when chemotherapy prevents cancer from spreading, slows its growth, or destroys cancer cells that have spread to other parts of your body. Ease cancer symptoms (also called Palliative care) — when chemotherapy shrinks tumours that are causing pain or pressure. How is chemotherapy used? Sometimes, chemotherapy is used as the only cancer treatment. But more often, you will get chemotherapy along with surgery, radiation therapy, or biological therapy. Chemotherapy can: Make a tumour smaller before surgery or radiation therapy. This is called neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Destroy cancer cells that may remain after surgery or radiation therapy. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy. Help radiation therapy and biological therapy work better. Destroy cancer cells that have come back (recurrent cancer) or spread to other parts of your body (metastatic cancer). How does my doctor decide which chemotherapy drugs to use? This choice depends on the following: l
The type of cancer you have. Some types of chemotherapy drugs are used for many types of cancer. Other drugs are used for just one or two types of cancer. Where do I go for chemotherapy? You may receive chemotherapy during a hospital stay, at home, or in a doctor’s office, clinic, or the outpatient unit in a hospital (which means you do not have to stay overnight). No matter where you go for chemotherapy, your doctor and nurse will watch for side-effects and make any needed drug changes. How often will I receive chemotherapy? Treatment schedules for chemotherapy vary widely. How often and how long you get chemotherapy depends on the following: Your type of cancer and how advanced it is. The goals of treatment (whether chemotherapy is used to cure your cancer, control its growth, or ease the symptoms). The type of chemotherapy. How your body reacts to chemotherapy. You may receive chemotherapy in cycles. A cycle is a period of chemotherapy treatment followed by a period of rest. For instance, you might receive I week of chemotherapy followed by three weeks of rest. These four weeks make up one cycle. The rest period gives your body a change to build new healthy cells. Can I miss a dose of chemotherapy? It is not good to skip a chemotherapy treatment. But sometimes your doctor or nurse may change your chemotherapy schedule. This can be due to side- effects you are having. If this happens, your doctor or nurse will explain what to do and when to start treatment again. How is chemotherapy given? Chemotherapy may be given in many ways. Injection: Chemotherapy is given by a shot in a muscle in your arm, thigh, or hip or right under the skin in the fatty part of your arm, leg, or belly. Intra-arterial (IA): Chemotherapy goes directly into the artery that is feeding the cancer. Intraperitoneal (IP): Chemotherapy goes directly into the peritoneal cavity (the area that contains organs such as your intestines, stomach, liver and ovaries). Intravenous (IV): Chemotherapy goes directly into a vein. Topically: Chemotherapy comes in a cream that you rub onto your skin. Orally: Chemotherapy comes in pills, capsules, or liquids that you swallow. Can I take vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements or herbs while I get chemotherapy? Some of these products can change how chemotherapy works. For this reasons, it is important to tell your doctor or nurse about all the vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and herbs that you take before you start chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, talk to your doctor before you take any of these
products. How will I know if my chemotherapy is working? Your doctor will give you physical examinations and medical tests (such as blood tests and x-rays). He or she will also ask you how you feel. You cannot tell if chemotherapy is working based on its side-effects. Some people think that severe side-effects mean chemotherapy is working well. Or that no side-effects mean that chemotherapy is not working. The truth is that side-effects have nothing to do with how well chemotherapy is fighting your cancer. How can I cope with my feelings during chemotherapy? Relax: Find some quiet time and think of yourself in a favourite place. Breathe slowly or listen to soothing music. This may help you feel calmer and less stressed. Exercise: Many people find that light exercise helps them feel better. There are many ways for you to exercise, such as walking, riding a bike, and doing yoga. Talk to your doctor or nurse about ways you can exercise. Talk with others: Talk about your feelings with someone you trust. Choose someone who can focus on you, such as a close friend, family member, chaplain, nurse, or social worker. You may also find it helpful to talk to someone else who is getting chemotherapy. Join a support group: Cancer support groups help people with cancer. These groups allow you to meet others with the same problems. You will have a chance to talk about your feelings and listen to other people talk about theirs. You can find out how others cope with cancer, chemotherapy and side-effects. Your doctor, nurse, or social worker may know about support groups near the place where you live. Some support groups also meet online (over the internet), which can be helpful if you cannot travel. (With inputs from the National Cancer Institute, California, US). The writer is Medical Superintendent, Mohan Dai Oswal Multispeciality & Cancer Hospital,
Ludhiana.
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How not to suffer breast pain Neeru, 29, was still celebrating the birth of her son when she had to visit her gynaecologist with stabbing breast pain, swelling and dry cracked nipple on the left side after six months of her delivery. The doctor, after a careful look, pronounced her suffering from “mastitis”, which could be feeding-related. She could be infected with the Staph Aureus bacteria or fungus named Candida. The panic-stricken patient put a volley of questions: Is it cancer, doctor? Is it curable? Will it harm my son in any way? Will it need surgery? How long will it take to get relief? Can I feed my child? Do other mothers also suffer it, or I am the unlucky one? Breast pain, also called mastalgia, is one of the commonest complaints among women. One may feel chronic tenderness, sharp burning or tightness. The pain may be constant or occasional. Some women have severe breast pain, occurring for more than five days every month. Postmenopausal women sometimes have breast pain, but the symptom is more common in younger women, who are menstruating. Breast pain rarely signifies breast cancer. If it is related to the menstrual cycle, it may disappear without any treatment or with just home remedies, common painkillers, hot fomentation, etc. If the pain is not menstruation-related, then it is significant. However, only 15 per cent of all breast pain cases require antibiotics as they are infected with bacteria. Breast cancer may also be the cause for pain, but here we will confine ourselves to non-cancerous pain
only. Common causes l
Hormonal changes during your period. If you are younger than 35 years of age and don’t have a breast lump, your doctor might decide that you don’t need any tests. If you’re older than 35 years and don’t have a breast lump, your doctor may still want you to get a mammogram done. A mammogram is a special X-ray of the breasts. If you do have a lump (or several lumps) in your breast, your doctor might decide that you need one or more tests. Multiple cysts call for thorough investigations, including MRI. What is mastitis? Mastitis usually affects one breast. It often happens while a woman is breastfeeding. The symptoms: Breast pain, swelling, red wedge-shaped area on the breast, a burning sensation while breastfeeding, fever, fatigue, etc. It is important to keep breastfeeding when you have mastitis. Your breast milk will not be bad for your baby, even if you have mastitis. If you stop breastfeeding, germs can spread in the milk that is left in your breast, and your infection can get worse. If you cannot nurse your baby, you should pump your breasts to remove the milk. How to prevent mastitis? Below are some basic breastfeeding techniques to lower your risk of developing mastitis. l
Your baby should latch onto the nipple with his or her mouth open wide.
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Health Notes London: Women who develop diabetes while they are pregnant, or become pregnant while being overweight, put the long-term health of their children at risk, experts have warned. Babies are being born addicted to sugar because their mothers eat too much during pregnancy. The infants are being forced on to sugary drips just hours after birth to counter withdrawal symptoms. Patrick O’Brien, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spokesman, said that babies exposed to huge amounts of sugar in the womb continued to make large amounts of insulin after birth.
— ANI ‘Trial’ drug associated
with 70 pc response rate
Washington: A novel experimental agent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been found to be highly active and well tolerated in patients who have relapsed and are resistant to other therapy, according to an interim study. The agent called PCI-32765 is the first drug designed to target Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, a protein essential for CLL-cell survival and proliferation. CLL is the most common form of leukemia, with about 15,000 new cases annually in the U.S. About 4,400 Americans die of the disease each year.
— ANI World’s tiniest babies
growing up healthy
Washington: The world’s smallest surviving babies, who were born as tiny as an iPhone, are growing up and doing fine with normal motor and language development, physicians have revealed. In 1989, Madeline Mann became the world’s smallest surviving baby after she was born at Loyola University Medical Centre weighing just 280 g. Later Rumaisa Rahmam set a new Guinness World Record in 2004 after she was born at Loyola, weighing 260 g. Now, Loyola physicians have revealed that both Madeline and Rumaisa have normal motor and language development. Rumaisa, 7, is a first grader and Madeline, 22, is an honours student at Augustana College in Rock Island, Il. But they both remain small for their ages.
— ANI |
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