Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of chemical substances to treat diseases. The word "chemotherapy" is used for a type of medicine used to help cure cancer. The drugs are cytotoxic, which means: toxic to the body's cells. This kind of chemotherapy works by putting poison into the patient. The fastest growing parts of the patient will receive the most poison, and cancer grows very fast.
Unfortunately, so do other parts of the body, which can be harmed through chemotherapy (Hair, immune system and digestive tract). This is why people who are getting chemotherapy often lose their hair and throw up a lot - their chemotherapy kills the cells in the hair, causing the hair to fall out, and the chemotherapy also kills cells in the lining of the stomach.
Applying chemotherapy requires a careful balance, so that the patient does not die from it.
Chemotherapy can also be used to treat other diseases, though cancer is the most common.
Chemotherapy (related to cancer) has side effects including:
- Loss or damage of hair and nails
- Weakened immune system
- Nausea and vomiting
