Chemotherapy medicines kill cancer cells while also harming rapidly dividing normal cells, but in order to minimize damage to healthy tissue doctors often administer chemotherapy over several weeks or months in cycles.

Chemotherapy side effects typically include fatigue, mouth sores and hair loss. Other risks associated with chemotherapy treatment may include low red blood cell count (anemia) or reduced platelet counts (thrombocytopenia), leading to bleeding or bruising episodes.

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy refers to the practice of administering powerful medicines to destroy cancer cells through either oral (pill or liquid) or intravenous (IV). Often combined with other treatment options like surgery, radiation and immunotherapy; chemotherapy works by attacking cancer cells while damaging normal cells as well. Chemotherapy cycles allow your body time to recover before its next dose – giving the cells time to regenerate in between cycles.

Macular degeneration is an eye condition which causes central vision to gradually decline and is the leading cause of severe vision loss among people aged 65 or over. There are two forms of macular degeneration; dry forms involve deposits under the retina known as drusen; while wet forms involve abnormal new blood vessels leaking under the retina leading to rapid and profound vision loss.

Macular degeneration cannot be reversed, but certain treatments can slow or prevent further vision loss. One such therapy is eating foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin – two antioxidants found in many fruits and vegetables that research shows can decrease your chances of macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration often develops over time without symptoms being readily noticeable; to identify it early, see your eye care provider and undergo a complete eye exam; one approach involves using an Amsler grid chart as part of this examination to measure central vision.

Macular degeneration treatment options are still being researched and are currently undergoing clinical trials, but until more effective therapies become available it’s wise to have regular checkups with an eye doctor, even if your vision seems normal. Regular exams with your optometrist are especially crucial if there is a family history or risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure or having lighter eye color and being farsighted that increase your likelihood of macular degeneration.

How is chemotherapy given?

Chemotherapy uses powerful medications that travel throughout the bloodstream and attack cancer cells in all parts of your body, while at the same time harming normal cells that proliferate quickly – such as those lining your mouth or stomach – as well as some that grow quickly themselves. Chemotherapy treatments may be administered orally (pill or liquid form), intravenously (IV), or both; it can take place either in your doctor’s office, clinic, hospital infusion center, home environment – most frequently being given in cycles alternating treatment periods with rest periods for recovery afterwards.

Your child may undergo surgery to have a central venous line implanted into their chest (port) or arm vein before beginning chemotherapy treatment, making administration of treatments and collecting samples simpler without using needles. Once treatment has concluded, this line will be removed.

Radiotherapy can be an effective treatment option for some types of cancer and should be combined with chemotherapy when available. Radiotherapy works by sending high-energy particles or waves of radiation directly into cancerous cells or tumours, killing or damaging them while relieving pain, swelling and bleeding symptoms. Furthermore, it might even improve chemo’s results by shrinking tumors before surgery takes place.

If your child’s tumor occurs in their bone, their medical team might combine surgery with chemotherapy and radiation as part of what’s known as combination chemotherapy or neoadjuvant therapy in order to effectively treat it and lessen the chances of it returning later. Chemotherapy might also be administered postoperatively in order to minimize chances of it spreading further throughout their body or return later.

Your child may experience side effects from chemotherapy drugs depending on which types they take and in what doses. Most are temporary and should gradually diminish as their normal cells recover from being affected by chemotherapy treatment. Therefore, it’s essential that they keep in touch with their healthcare team and report any new symptoms they notice immediately.

What are the side effects of chemotherapy?

Chemo drugs used in chemotherapy work by killing cancerous cells while simultaneously damaging healthy cells that exist alongside them. The side effects associated with chemotherapy drugs vary for everyone depending on which one you receive and your overall health status; some might appear instantly while others could appear later on or gradually over time. Your healthcare team will assist in managing side effects so they do not interfere with treatment plans.

Systemic chemotherapy treatments are available both intravenously (through an IV injection) or orally by swallowing pills, depending on which option your healthcare provider recommends for you. Your healthcare provider will instruct you which medications and doses to take on an ongoing basis as part of their chemotherapy treatment, including additional therapies such as radiation therapy or surgery that might be needed during or post treatment.

Chemotherapy treatments may alter your sense of taste or smell, making food less appealing and making weight management or maintaining appetite difficult. Certain chemotherapy medicines may even leave a metallic taste in the mouth or affect nerves in your hands or feet to cause pain, tingling and numbness.

Some chemotherapies can be directly administered to the eye through an experimental approach called intravitreal chemotherapy, though so far only small-scale studies have examined this option. If proven effective, however, the technique could become standard practice in treating cancerous eye conditions.

Aflibercept (Zaltrap, Sanofi & Regeneron) was recently approved for use as part of an intravitreal combination therapy to treat metastatic colorectal cancer. Additionally, Aflibercept was granted FDA clearance as an age-related macular degeneration treatment under its brand name Eylea in the US – becoming the first ocular chemotherapy drug approved in this manner.

Some chemotherapy therapies can alter the balance of hormones in women and cause early menopause or lower fertility rates in men. If this is something you are considering in the future, be sure to discuss this with your physician so they can create a treatment plan to minimize adverse side effects while providing medications to manage them effectively.

What are the risks of chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy medicines are designed to kill cancer cells, but can also attack and harm healthy cells that reproduce quickly – including bone marrow (where new blood cells are produced), hair follicles, mouth and stomach lining cells, etc. If the medicine is given too frequently or at too high a dosage it’s more likely to cause adverse side effects than beneficial outcomes.

Chemotherapy treatments may decrease blood cells in your body, increasing your risk of infection and possibly leading to temporary changes. Usually though, they resolve themselves before your next cycle begins.

Chemotherapy side effects often include hair loss or thinning, which typically returns once chemotherapy treatment has concluded, and mouth sores known as mucositis that cause pain, swelling and difficulty swallowing – these sores often respond well to medication prescribed to treat them. Some chemotherapies may also interfere with message centers in the brain responsible for nausea and vomiting – however there may be medications to manage such side effects.

As part of your chemotherapy treatment, it is essential that you discuss the possible side effects with both your doctor and care team. Discuss how best to handle them as well as symptoms to watch out for such as fever, chills, rash or unexpected bleeding/bruising. Also discuss when/where/whom you should call during day/night hours should any concerns or queries arise.

Your healthcare provider will schedule chemotherapy treatments in cycles, taking days, weeks or sometimes months between cycles so your body has time to recover and produce new healthy cells. This way, chemo treatments give your body the time it needs to rest and produce new healthy ones.

Some chemotherapy medications, including Adriamycin (Rubiex), Cytoxan Neosar and Methotrexate can damage the lungs and lead to long-term neuropathy of legs and feet, particularly when given at higher doses or when combined with radiation treatment for lung cancer. Other chemo drugs, like Bevacizumab (Genentech’s Avastin) and Ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap Regeneron’s Zaltrap), have shown promise when administered intravitreal injection by eye specialists using intravitreal injection techniques – clinical trials have established their safety and effectiveness over two years of study.