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I know the basics of chemotherapy, but I never really understood how it works. Quite a few people in my family have suffered from cancer, and the resulting chemotherapy, so I decided to explore it a bit to find out what chemo really is, and how it works:



Chemotherapy is the use of medicines (or drugs) to treat disease. Sometimes this treatment is called just “chemo.” Although surgery and radiation therapy remove, destroy, or damage cancer cells in a specific area, chemotherapy works throughout the whole body. Chemotherapy can destroy cancer cells that have metastasized (spread) to parts of the body far away from the primary (original) tumor.

Chemotherapy is the general term for any treatment involving the use of chemical agents to stop cancer cells from growing. Chemotherapy can eliminate cancer cells at sites great distances from the original cancer. As a result, chemotherapy is considered a systemic treatment.

Healthy normal cells in the body grow and divide in an orderly manner to replace old or damaged cells. Cancer cells have lost that capacity and divide out of control. Chemotherapy drugs work by interfering with the ability of cancer cells to divide and reproduce themselves. Chemotherapy can be delivered by the bloodstream to reach cancer cells all over the body, or it can be administered directly to specific cancer sites.

The cost of chemotherapy can depend on what medication you are prescribed. Some pill form medications cost up to $16 a pill. This can be costly if you are prescribed frequent dosages. Check with your doctor to see if a medication can be prescribed that your insurance company covers. If not, the hospital social worker can refer you to agencies that may be able to provide assistance or grants.

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