Does cancer require chemotherapy? Is chemotherapy really harmful to the body? Listen to what doctors say

Regarding cancer, if there is any treatment that is the most controversial, it must be chemotherapy. On the one hand, many cancer patients will receive chemotherapy after being hospitalized. Over the years, the cancer treatment guidelines have been updated dozens of times, and chemotherapy has always been the first-line treatment option. In other words, chemotherapy is an effective treatment option that has been scientifically proven. However, we often see statements such as "chemotherapy is poison" and "chemotherapy is ineffective." So what is chemotherapy? Does cancer require chemotherapy? Does chemotherapy harm the body more than it helps? Today we will give you some popular science.

What is cancer chemotherapy? Cancer chemotherapy, also known as cancer chemotherapies, refers to the use of chemical drugs to kill cancer cells to achieve the purpose of treatment. Chemotherapy is currently one of the most effective means of treating cancer, and is known as one of the three major cancer treatments along with surgery and radiotherapy.

Many people who have never had chemotherapy always think that chemotherapy is very "mysterious". In fact, chemotherapy is no different from ordinary infusion, except that the infused drugs have the effect of killing cancer cells. The only difference is that sometimes there will be a black bag outside the drug to avoid light.

Chemotherapy drugs are infused into the body's blood vessels and circulate throughout the body through the blood, destroying cancer cells and thus playing a therapeutic role.

Does cancer require chemotherapy? I believe many people have this question: Does cancer really require chemotherapy? Why do some cancers not require chemotherapy while others require chemotherapy repeatedly?

In fact, whether to undergo chemotherapy and what chemotherapy regimen to use is determined by the type and stage of cancer.

Take lung cancer for example. If it is diagnosed as small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy is generally the main treatment. Six cycles of regular chemotherapy are required, with one cycle lasting 21 days.

If it is non-small cell lung cancer, if the opportunity for surgery is lost, systemic chemotherapy is required. For patients who are able to undergo surgery, whether chemotherapy is used depends on the tumor stage. At this time, we base it on the TNM staging of the tumor, where T: Tumor (Topography), represents the range of the primary tumor; N: Lymph Node, represents the presence or absence and range of regional lymph node metastasis; M: Metastasis represents the presence or absence of distant metastasis.

After the operation, the tumor is divided into stages I, II, III, and IV according to the TNM staging system based on the postoperative pathological conditions. The earlier the staging, the better the surgical effect. For example, stage I lung cancer usually does not require radiotherapy or chemotherapy after surgery, while stage II, III, and IV lung cancer means that the risk of early tumor metastasis is high, and systemic chemotherapy is often required to further consolidate the therapeutic effect.

Does chemotherapy cause great harm to the body? Chemotherapy is a double-edged sword. While killing tumor cells, it also causes certain damage to the body's normal cells. At the same time, chemotherapy also has certain side effects, such as bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal reactions, allergic reactions, changes in bowel habits, etc.

However, we cannot deny the contribution of chemotherapy to cancer just because of its so-called side effects. Cancer is still the world's number one problem. From its invention to the present, chemotherapy remains the most classic non-surgical treatment method. Even some cancers of the blood system can be cured by chemotherapy alone, which is very valuable.

Anyone will undergo a comprehensive evaluation before undergoing systemic chemotherapy. If it is considered that the patient cannot tolerate systemic chemotherapy temporarily, other auxiliary treatments will be carried out first. In other words, we will evaluate the benefits and harms based on the patient's condition, and only when the benefits dominate will the patient be given systemic chemotherapy.

In recent years, with the upgrading of chemotherapy drugs, especially the use of drugs that reduce toxic side effects, the pain and side effects of chemotherapy have been significantly reduced. Some patients do not feel any discomfort until the end of chemotherapy. Therefore, if the condition requires it, it is recommended to follow the doctor's advice and conduct systemic chemotherapy regularly.