In recent years, with the emergence of new anti-cancer drugs and their successive clinical use, the efficacy of tumor chemotherapy has been significantly improved. These new anti-cancer drugs include platinum drugs, vincristine, vincristine, ciclopirox, ghosts, Jianze, molecularly targeted drugs and anti-cancer drugs that affect the balance of hormones in the body. Most patients with advanced tumors can be in remission and prolong their survival after applying chemotherapy. Some advanced patients can be cured with the application of chemotherapy, such as: lymphoma, testicular tumor, neuroblastoma, etc. As adjuvant chemotherapy to surgery or radiotherapy, it can destroy the microscopic lesions that have metastasized in time, reduce the recurrence rate and improve the survival rate. The most successful examples of adjuvant chemotherapy are breast cancer, osteosarcoma, gastric cancer, etc. Since the earlier chemotherapy is started, the less chance of drug resistance, many tumors have adopted neoadjuvant chemotherapy in recent years. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy refers to adjuvant chemotherapy given before surgery, which not only shrinks the tumor to facilitate surgical resection, but also prevents distant metastasis. For example, for osteosarcoma and breast cancer with tumor larger than 5 cm, adjuvant chemotherapy given before surgery can improve the cure rate and prolong the survival period. The progress of chemotherapy is not only due to the continuous emergence of new anti-tumor drugs, but more importantly, the progress of anti-chemotherapy adverse reaction drugs and supportive treatment in the past decade or so. For example, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) can effectively stimulate the differentiation of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells to granulocyte-macrophage lineage progenitors and rapidly increase the number of granulocytes in peripheral blood. This allows patients to tolerate larger doses of chemotherapy and reduces the chance of infection due to low granulocyte count. Nausea and vomiting are also common adverse chemotherapy reactions to chemotherapeutic agents. Current anti-5-hydroxytryptamine drugs such as toltestrone and granisetron are effective in suppressing chemotherapy drug-induced vomiting. In addition, clinically commonly used chemoprotective agents include formyl tetrahydrofolate, sodium mesylate, aminophosphate, etc., which play a certain detoxifying and potentiating role for chemotherapeutic agents such as 5-FU, MTX and CTX. In addition, the improvement of medication methods and the application of new technologies, such as, interventional chemotherapy (catheter chemoembolization), hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to support high-dose chemotherapy and clinical application of biomodulators, have significantly improved the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Current research shows that leukemia, lymphoma, seminoma, ovarian cancer and other tumors that are sensitive to chemotherapy can be cured by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, while those tumors that are relatively sensitive to chemotherapy such as small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, synovial sarcoma of bone and various other tumors that are sensitive to chemotherapy can achieve long-term remission by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The following are answers to common questions from the public Chemotherapy is no longer a “double-edged sword” that is difficult to adhere to. Due to the lack of fundamental metabolic differences between tumor cells and normal cells, all anti-cancer drugs cannot completely avoid damage to normal tissues. Therefore, some people call chemotherapy a “double-edged sword”, which means that while killing tumor cells, normal tissues are also greatly damaged. The adverse effects of anticancer drugs not only bring pain to cancer patients and affect their quality of life, but also limit the increase of chemotherapy dose and directly affect the efficacy of chemotherapy. However, modern medicine keeps making progress, more and more chemotherapeutic drugs have stronger effects on tumor cells, and the damage to normal tissues has been significantly reduced. In the past ten years or so, there has been obvious progress in the prevention and treatment measures for some major adverse reactions of anticancer drugs. Nausea and vomiting are also common chemotherapeutic adverse reactions of chemotherapeutic drugs. The current anti-5-hydroxytryptamine drugs toltestrone and granisetron are effective in suppressing chemotherapy drug-induced vomiting. Such a double-edged sword should be a weapon worthy of your perseverance. In the whole hard journey of fighting against tumor I hope you can persevere to the end and always hold the weapon in your hand until you get the final victory. Adequate dose and sufficient course of treatment are the keys to the success of your chemotherapy The formulation of chemotherapy regimen for each patient is different, and it is mainly adjusted appropriately according to the disease condition, patient’s tolerance ability and the presence of complications, etc. Regardless of the chemotherapy regimen adopted by doctors, the treatment dose of drugs should be sufficient and the course of treatment should reach sufficient times so as to play the role of effectively killing cancer cells. In addition, chemotherapy is a long-term treatment process, and the efficacy cannot be reflected in one or two times. Therefore, don’t give up the treatment easily because you can’t see the immediate benefit, and the patient’s tolerance to the adverse drug reactions and perseverance in the treatment process are often the key to the success or failure of the treatment. Because a large number of clinical data has confirmed that only when a certain treatment time is reached, the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs can appear. How to choose the correct chemotherapy regimen. The use of chemotherapy also needs to follow the principle of adequate amount and adequate treatment. In general, the use of chemotherapy requires repeating every 2-3 weeks, one cycle at a time. After 3-4 cycles of chemotherapy for an interim evaluation, your doctor will perform an imaging examination to observe the tumor’s response to drug treatment: if the mass is found to shrink or remain unchanged, indicating that the use of chemotherapy is effective, you should continue to adhere to the treatment. Generally a better outcome is achieved at 6-8 treatment cycles. This is because even if the tumor volume remains unchanged, it also indicates that the drug has controlled the tumor progression. Remember: discontinuing at this point and giving up too soon will affect the overall treatment effect. After 6-8 cycles of treatment, the body should rest for a period of time to allow the body to recover, and then continue treatment to kill the remaining tumor cells. It is important to note that a chemotherapy regimen is decided by the doctor after careful consideration and taking into account the patient’s condition. Therefore, it is important to follow your doctor’s treatment plan during the course of treatment. Before treatment, you should encourage your patients to: maintain a good state of mind and accept treatment as early as possible Throughout the treatment and recovery process of tumor patients, experts have found that psychological factors play a positive influence that cannot be replaced by other medical treatments. Bad emotion can reduce the immune function of the body and weaken the role of immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells; on the contrary, good psychological emotion can improve and balance the immune function of the body, prevent the occurrence of malignant tumor and make the already appeared tumor in a self-limiting state, which is eventually destroyed by the immune function of the body. Therefore, we should try our best to make patients maintain a good mental state, firmly believe in overcoming cancer and try to cooperate with doctors for early treatment. Teach patients some small ways to regulate their emotions Exercise Among all means of self-control of emotions, outdoor exercise is the most effective one. Some tumor patients may not be able to do strenuous exercise due to the disease. It is better to encourage patients to take walks and jogging activities, which can help regulate their emotions. Music Bowel cancer patients often feel nervous and irritable, so music will make people feel relaxed and happy. It is important to note that music should be chosen, and you should choose some tunes that are suitable for your state of mind. Diet Scientific research has found that carbohydrates can calm the mood, protein can make people excited and energetic, but caffeine, such as excessive intake will increase irritability, fear and anxiety, too much fat intake on the mood stability has no drying effect. Light Many people feel depressed in winter, which is clinically known as seasonal mood disorder, because of the low light hours. A way to lift your spirits is to get more sunlight. Sunlight will give your family a sense of hope During chemotherapy, you should also pay attention to …… A full spirit and an open-minded attitude can regulate the body’s potential and increase autoimmunity. Ensure adequate nutrition: consuming enough calories, proteins, and vitamins will help avoid wasting and maintain your energy so that you can complete the treatment process with quality and quantity. Maintain a regular rhythm of life: it can make the mental state adjusted, increase the confidence to overcome the disease and reduce the disturbance brought by the side effects of chemotherapy Know some knowledge about the disease and drugs, understand the characteristics of the disease and the reaction to drug treatment, and be fully prepared for the thought, you will be more able to cooperate well with the treatment Take appropriate Chinese medicine: such as hawthorn, Chen Pi, etc. have the effect of regulating qi to help digestion and conditioning. Avoid other diseases: resistance is poor during chemotherapy, so you should pay attention to the cold weather, avoid catching cold and intestinal diseases. Conduct appropriate indoor and outdoor sports and recreational activities: such as full of slow walking, walking, listening to music, calligraphy, painting, etc. can bring a pleasant life, reduce the pain of your disease and chemotherapy, and maintain physical and mental health. Adopt a positive and cooperative attitude towards the guidance of medical staff and the help of family members. It is especially important to remind you that some health care product manufacturers take advantage of the desire of patients and their families for cancer treatment and exaggerate the efficacy blindly through media hype. As a patient, you should be conscious of their limited role and put your limited financial resources on the real scientific treatment. Follow the medical advice and cooperate with doctors for active treatment to bring back the glory of life. How to eat and drink during chemotherapy The most effective treatment for intestinal cancer is surgery and chemotherapy. With effective treatment, the patient’s life can be prolonged and the quality of life can be improved. The earlier the diagnosis is made and the earlier the treatment is given, the better the result will be. There is no need to talk about “cancer”. What should I eat and what should I pay special attention to during my illness? This is the basic principle of cancer treatment. Adequate intake of calories and protein helps to avoid wasting and maintain energy, so that the patient can complete the treatment process with quality and quantity. Adequate nutrition is not equal to eating “old turtle” every day, but it is important to ensure balanced nutrition and absorption. Sugar is the body’s direct source of energy, fast absorption, and essential daily. Rice, pasta, fruit, pastries, chocolate, etc. are rich in sugar, may be selected according to preferences in moderation; protein is certainly important. Studies have found that milk and eggs are the most suitable proteins for the human body, which is often mentioned by doctors as protein. Of course, fish, chicken, lean pork, etc. are also sources of protein: Intestinal cancer patients may have difficulty in digesting too much fat, but it is not impossible to dip in a little bit of oil. Don’t forget vegetables and fruits, which are important sources of what we call “vitamins” and “trace elements”, so eat them as often as you like. It is especially important to remind you that some health food manufacturers take advantage of the desire of patients and their families for cancer treatment and exaggerate the efficacy blindly through media hype. As a patient, you should be aware of their limited role and put your limited financial resources into the real scientific treatment. Follow the medical advice and cooperate with doctors for active treatment to bring back the glory of life. Eat less and more meals It is important to have adequate nutrition during treatment, but chemotherapy and the disease itself may make it impossible for the patient to eat, so a less and more frequent diet can be used to maintain and enhance adequate nutrition. Instead of eating three meals a day, eat a little less at each meal and eat a few more meals a day, which is very helpful for digestion: keep changing the taste, keep it fresh, try changing the color of the food can also help to improve the appetite; create a pleasant atmosphere for eating, appropriate pre-meal activities are also useful; improve the quality of drinks, drink more milk, juice, so that even when drinking water can be supplemented with nutrients. Do I need to avoid eating? Western medicine rarely talks about the need to avoid eating, however, our ancient Chinese medicine suggests some experiences. If the patient’s abdomen is distended and painful, and the tongue is dull and red, he can eat foods that promote blood circulation and Qi, such as hawthorn, but should not eat more sweet potatoes and other excessively greasy foods that cause flatulence; if the patient often feels weak and has thin stools containing food that does not dissipate, he should eat less watermelon, a type of cool food surface can eat lentils, barley and other foods that replenish the Qi and spleen; also note that when undergoing chemotherapy, he will be particularly sensitive to some cold things, so Should avoid contact with cold objects, avoid eating cold food such as cold drinks, so as not to induce numbness of the hands and feet and other toxic side effects of chemotherapy. In the treatment, you should help the patient to overcome difficulties and insist on treatment. Cooperate with the doctor to choose a reasonable treatment plan and help the patient to fight against cancer. As long as the cancer can be removed, surgical resection should be adopted as much as possible to remove most of the cancer cells in the body. And chemotherapy is another main treatment method. For post-surgical patients, adjuvant chemotherapy can kill the residual tumor cells or micro metastases in the body and prevent the recurrence of tumor. For patients with unresectable colorectal cancer or even with distant metastases, chemotherapy can control the disease progression and prolong patients’ survival; effective chemotherapy can also reduce the size of the tumor and provide opportunities for further surgery, thus enabling patients to survive for a long time. However, while chemotherapy drugs kill tumor cells, they also have a killing effect on normal cells of the body. It is also called toxic reaction. The common toxic reactions of most chemotherapy drugs are bone marrow suppression (leukopenia), gastrointestinal reactions (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.), hair loss, neurotoxicity (sensory abnormalities/disorders), cardiotoxicity (arrhythmia), nephrotoxicity (renal impairment), and ototoxicity (hearing impairment, etc.). Some of them can be overcome, while others have serious consequences and can even be life-threatening. Therefore, you should consult your healthcare provider before chemotherapy and choose a drug with good efficacy and safety (i.e., less toxic reactions) for treatment as much as possible in order to achieve good results and increase your chances of survival. As a family member, you have the responsibility to cooperate with the doctor and choose a chemotherapy drug with good efficacy and low toxicity for the patient. You should also be aware of the possible toxic side effects of chemotherapy and master the basic prevention and control measures, so as not to reduce the quality of life of the patient as much as possible while winning the precious life for the patient, so that he can share a good life with his family. Encourage patients to adhere to chemotherapy and not to give up easily Chemotherapy is a cyclical and regular treatment process, the efficacy of which does not respond quickly, so no matter what chemotherapy regimen doctors adopt, the treatment dose of drugs should be sufficient and the course of treatment should reach a sufficient number of times, so as to effectively kill cancer cells. A common problem is that patients refuse to take the drugs. Usually it is due to the strong toxic side effects of chemotherapy drugs that make it difficult for patients to adhere to the application. In this regard, as family members, we must do careful and patient ideological work, and we must realize that refusal to use drugs is one of the important reasons for the relapse and deterioration of the disease. Only by overcoming difficulties and adhering to treatment can we achieve ultimate victory. It is also important to choose drugs with good efficacy and less toxic reactions for treatment. It is worth noting that each chemotherapy regimen is decided by the doctor after careful consideration and combined with the patient’s condition, so please make sure to follow the doctor’s treatment regimen during the treatment process. How to help patients overcome the toxic effects of chemotherapy? Among the systemic reactions of chemotherapy, the toxic effects and adverse reactions of the digestive system are the most troublesome for patients, such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, oral mucosal ulcers, and pharyngitis. You can take the following methods to prevent: you can use fasting or bedtime administration; help patients to alleviate their worries, because patients with heavy mental burden and fear can trigger or aggravate their gastrointestinal reactions; help patients to develop the habit of eating small amounts and chewing slowly; postoperative fistula patients should try to provide some dry food’ should avoid eating too sweet, too hot, too greasy, spicy, smelly If physical condition allows, patients can be helped to take a walk before and after meals; avoid the stimulation of tobacco and alcohol. Since cold can trigger or aggravate the above symptoms, during the treatment period, patients should avoid contact with cold objects, cold food such as cold drinks, air-conditioning temperature should not be too low, and the patient should pay more attention to hand and foot warming in winter.