Chemotherapy

The purpose of chemotherapy is to kill the cancerous cells. It may be prescribed:

• As an adjuvant treatment once the tumour has been removed, to ensure that no cancerous cells remain.
• As a neo-adjuvant treatment, to reduce the size of the tumour before surgery: this helps to limit potential after-effects linked to the surgery.
• In the case of metastatic disease, to treat the whole organism.

There are many types of chemotherapy, which are used according to the characteristics of the cancer.

Chemotherapy is frequently administered intravenously. It is usually performed in the form of sessions lasting from a few minutes to several hours, in a day hospital. The sessions are repeated every two to three weeks.

Chemotherapy can also be administered orally in the form of a tablet, which can be taken at home.

Chemotherapies have one major drawback: they are unable to make a distinction between cancerous cells and healthy cells. They therefore destroy a large part of the rapidly renewed cells of the organism. This explains the many possible side effects, such as loss of hair, problems with the nails or skin, and nausea. Oftentimes, chemotherapy also causes a temporary decrease in the immune defences, so patients must therefore be given advice on how to react in case of infection.