Treatments

 

 

Select a Treatment: Chemotherapy  |  Immunotherapy  |  Radiation  |  Surgery  |  Hormonal Therapy  |  Targeted Therapy  |  Stem Cell Transplantation

 

What It Is

Chemotherapy sends cancer-fighting drugs that circulate in the bloodstream to distant parts of the body where the cancer may have spread. Because it can eliminate cancer cells distant from the original site, chemotherapy is considered a systemic treatment.

What to Expect

For a typical session, you'll come in to the Center and recline in one of the large chairs in our large, open treatment room, where you'll see others receiving their treatments. Here you can watch TV, listen to music, or read while your therapy is administered.

Most chemotherapy is administered in a vein (intravenous), but can also be administered orally by pill, injected into a body cavity (such as the bladder), into a muscle (intramuscular), or into the spinal fluid (intrathecal).

Length of Treatment

Chemotherapy drugs are typically given in cycles. The cycle consists of the day(s) the drug is administered followed by a rest and recovery period. A cycle usually lasts one to four weeks and is then repeated, which means a treatment is administered every one to four weeks. Each course of chemotherapy is different, but generally consists of four to six cycles. The actual administration of some chemotherapy drugs may take only seconds or minutes, while others may take hours or even days.

Side Effects

After your sessions, you may experience side effects. Many side effects once associated with chemotherapy are now easily prevented or controlled, allowing many people receiving treatment to work, travel, and participate in many of their other normal activities.

Some possible side effects of chemotherapy include:

  • Anemia
  • Depression
  • Fatigue
  • Hair Loss
  • Infection/Fever
  • Low Blood Counts
  • Mouth Sores
  • Nausea and Vomiting
  • Neutropenia
  • Pain
  • Reproduction/Sexuality
  • Thrombocytopenia

Oral Treatments and IV Treatments

As mentioned earlier, most chemotherapy medications are administered intravenously, but many are taken orally. Whichever treatment your doctor prescribes for you, you'll be able to get it at the Center from our onsite pharmacy, MCC Apothecary, which offers many medications not available at other pharmacies.