Radiotherapy vs chemotherapy

Share on Pinterest Fat Camera / Getty Images • Immunotherapy enhances your immune system’s ability to target cancer cells. • Chemotherapy acts directly on cancer cells to keep them from replicating. Your healthcare team may recommend both treatments at the same time or in addition to other cancer treatments such as Keep reading as we examine the similarities and differences of immunotherapy versus chemotherapy. Cancer cells are abnormal cells that replicate uncontrollably. Normally, your Cancer cells may be able to • having genetic changes that reduce their visibility • containing proteins that turn off your immune cells • changing cells around the tumor so that they interfere with your immune response. Immunotherapy helps your immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells Immunotherapy drugs help your immune system recognize cancer and destroy it. The Immunotherapy is a growing area of research. Many scientists are optimistic it could lead to breakthroughs in cancer treatment. How immunotherapy drugs are delivered You can take immune therapy drugs through an IV, capsules, or creams. Immunotherapy is used to treat a wide range of cancers but isn’t yet as widely used as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and Types of immunotherapy drugs Immunotherapy drugs can be divided into several categories depending on how they specifically target your immune system. • Immune checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs block immune checkpoints. Immune checkpoints are part of your natural immun...

These drugs specifically damage and kill cells that grow quickly. They interfere with cells' ability to divide. Cancer cells grow uncontrollably and often much quicker than other tissues and cells in the body, so these compounds damage them. But some specific parts of the body have a fast turnover of new cells and are also impacted by chemotherapy medications, leading to side effects in parts of the body that are unaffected by cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, radiation is usually a local treatment, meaning it doesn't travel throughout your body. There are two types of local treatment: internal radiation and external beam radiation. The former is an injection of radiation in a solid or liquid into the tumor or nearby tissues. The latter involves an application of radiation from a beam generated by a machine outside the body. The treatment plan your healthcare provider comes up with will be specific to your type of cancer, as well as its stage and other considerations, like your age and general health. These factors play an important role in what treatments will ultimately work best for you and leave you with the best possible chance for survival. Your healthcare provider knows your situation best, but feel free to get a second opinion from another healthcare provider by giving them access to your records and information. How Do Chemo and Radiation Side Effects Differ? Both chemotherapy and radiation work to destroy cancer cells, which can take a toll on the entire body. But the...

Any good carpenter will tell you to use the right tool for the right job. An oncologist will tell you the same thing. Doctors who treat cancer have a variety of drugs, devices and other options in their toolbox depending on the patient and the type and stage of cancer. Using the correct cancer-fighting tool or tools is critical for oncologists to help position their patients for the best outcomes possible. Among the most common tools doctors employ are • Chemotherapy kills fast-growing cells—both cancerous and non-cancerous—in the body. • Immunotherapy helps the immune system do a better job of identifying cancer cells so it can attack and kill them. “Chemotherapy is a reactive approach. There’s a fast-growing cancer cell in your body, so you want to stop the fast-growing cells. You use chemo to get rid of them, hoping that you will get all the cancer cells at the same time,” says Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, Vice Chairman of the Department of Medical Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America ® (CTCA). “Immunotherapy, in theory, uses your own body, which is very well-trained through evolution. We are able to fight any kind of infection if we know how to identify the pathogen we’re attacking. Ideally, if you’re able to train your immune system to identify cancer, that’s the ultimate goal, because you’re using your own body to do the attacking.” Both chemotherapy and immunotherapy may be used alone or together, or they may also be used in combination with other treatment...

• Intravenous (IV): Chemo is delivered directly to the bloodstream through a • Oral: Some chemo medications come in a pill or liquid you swallow. • Injection: Chemo can be injected into your skin or muscle with a syringe. • Topical: Chemo can also be applied to the top of your skin as a cream or gel. Side Effects Since chemo destroys rapidly dividing healthy cells in addition to cancer cells, there are side effects to these medications. Hair, skin, mouth, gastrointestinal, reproductive, bone marrow, and nerve cells are typical fast-splitting cells affected by chemo. Additionally, people undergoing chemo are at high risk for serious infections. Prices & Where to Get It Intravenous and injectable chemotherapies are given in a hospital or outpatient clinic. A pharmacist mixes and prepares these medications, and an oncology nurse administers them. Oral and topical chemo are purchased through a specialty pharmacy and can be administered at home. • External radiation: While lying on a table, a machine directs the radiation beam to a specific body area. The device is programmed explicitly to each person's unique cancer site. • Internal radiation ( • Systemic radiation: Radioactive medications can be given by IV or orally and circulate in the bloodstream to deliver radiation. • Hair loss (all areas) • Sunburn/sore skin (all areas) • Skin changes (all areas) • Fatigue (all areas) • Abnormal bloodwork (all areas) • Headache/blurry vision (brain) • Sore throat/difficulty swallowing (...

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are cancer treatments. They use different approaches to shrink tumors, kill cancer cells, and prevent cancer from spreading. A cancer diagnosis can be life changing. Individuals with the condition may need to consider treatment options, including chemotherapy and radiation. Both these techniques aim to treat and cure cancer, but there are some key differences between them. This article explores chemotherapy and radiation, possible side effects, and what to expect when someone receives these potentially lifesaving treatments. Share on Pinterest agrobacter/Getty Images Doctors prescribe In chemotherapy, doctors administer Many healthy cells in the body, such as those in the bone marrow, digestive tract, and hair follicles, grow quickly. Chemotherapy may also kill these cells, causing The goal of chemotherapy is to slow or stop cancer growth and prevent it from spreading to other areas of the body via metastasis. There are various types of chemotherapy, each working slightly differently. Antimetabolites, for example, attack the parts of cells that allow them to synthesize DNA or RNA, and Traditionally, doctors administered chemo through an intravenous (IV) drip at a hospital or clinic. Now, some chemotherapy drugs are available as pills. Radiation Radiation therapy falls into • External radiation: A doctor directs radiation from outside the body to target the tumor. • Internal radiation: Healthcare professionals place a radiation source insi...