Chemotherapy: Common Myths And Misconception Part 1

Chemotherapy is most commonly used during cancer treatment. Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and the idea of ​​being diagnosed with cancer alone seriously shakes normal people, not to mention the patients who actually have cancer. Diagnosing cancer at the right time is the key to effective treatment of cancer, and cancer is usually achieved through chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, or targeted drug therapy.

Common myths and facts

Myth 1: Every cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy will have complete hair loss.

Fact: This is the completely wrong fact of chemotherapy that people tend to believe. Not all chemotherapy drugs cause hair loss in patients, because in the case of different cancers, different chemotherapy drugs have independent mechanisms to inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells. Only a few drugs may cause hair loss and thinning hair, but never completely lose hair.

Today, oncologists prefer to use specific targeted drugs like chemotherapy drugs. These drugs have been modified to target only cancer cells while retaining all other types of rapidly dividing cells in the body.

In addition, oncologists specifically determine that patients who may experience hair loss are one of the chemical side effects. It is recommended that such patients undergo scalp cooling after chemotherapy. This therapy limits the time that blood flows to the scalp for a few hours. As a result, hair follicles are less likely to be exposed to chemotherapy drugs flowing through the blood.

Myth 2: Both men and women cannot reproduce after chemotherapy.

Fact: One of the worst chemotherapy facts. Gone are the days when people used to lose fertility due to chemotherapy drugs. Now, new advances in medical technology have enabled patients to successfully conceive after chemotherapy.

Medical oncologists make every effort to maintain the fertility of patients during chemotherapy. In high-risk women, oncologists may prescribe some drugs before taking chemical drugs to suppress ovarian function.

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In other cases, it is recommended that men and women freeze their sperm and eggs in the bank before chemotherapy, respectively. But this is not necessary in all cases. After treatment, most patients can conceive naturally.

Myth 3: Only in the most serious cancers, oncologists recommend chemotherapy.

Fact: This is completely incorrect. The reasons for using chemotherapy drugs vary from person to person. In some patients, chemotherapy drugs are used as a stand-alone cancer treatment, while in others, it is used in combination with radiotherapy. But this does not mean that in both cases, the stage or grade of cancer is the worst, which is why chemotherapy is used.

Brain chemotherapy is usually performed when a patient is scheduled for cancer resection. Medical oncologists prefer to treat the brain before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor. Once the tumor size is reduced, the cancer surgeon can more easily remove the entire tumor at once during the procedure.

Sometimes chemotherapy drugs are used to stabilize the patient. Therefore, when preparing a treatment plan, the oncologist will carefully assess whether chemotherapy is required. If you have been recommended for chemotherapy, it does not mean that your cancer is not good.

Myth 4: Chemotherapy can be avoided because there are many other advanced cancer treatment options.

Fact: There are indeed many other cancer treatment options, but nothing works like chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy works by killing cancer cells or preventing their further growth. No other treatment modality follows the same principles of cancer treatment.