What do patients and families need to know about chemotherapy?

  Chemotherapy is the use of chemotherapeutic drugs to control the growth and reproduction of tumor cells to achieve the purpose of treating tumor. Chemotherapy can effectively control the growth and metastasis of tumor, however, chemotherapy drugs also have certain toxic reactions.  2. Chemotherapy is administered in a cyclical manner, which means that after receiving one course of chemotherapy, you will rest for a period of time and then enter the next cycle of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs can be administered orally, intravenously, arterially or intramuscularly into the blood circulation to reach the whole body.  3. There are different chemotherapy regimens for different diseases. The doctor in charge will decide on the best treatment plan according to the patient’s specific situation and give the patient and family members a signed consent form for chemotherapy. Patients and their families have the right to informed consent.  4.Since chemotherapy drugs are toxic to cells and will affect normal cells while killing cancer cells, some side effects will occur. These side effects will appear with the accumulation of drug doses, so the toxicity that will not appear in the first course of treatment may appear later as the number of chemotherapy treatments increases. But they will also gradually reduce or perhaps disappear after the end of chemotherapy.  5.Chemotherapy is usually 4-6 courses, or even 12 courses. Some are three weeks apart and some are two weeks apart. Before each course of chemotherapy, your doctor will give you a thorough and systematic examination, including blood sampling, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, ultrasound and so on. After every 2-3 treatments, your doctor will arrange a CT, MR, PET, ECT, etc. to evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy, and will consider changing the plan if the results are not good.  6.Side effects of chemotherapy include: nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, hair loss, hand numbness, fatigue, abdominal pain and diarrhea, constipation, bone marrow suppression (decrease in white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets), fever, infection, cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, allergic reactions, etc. These side effects can be prevented and controlled. These side effects can be prevented and controlled. Please tell your doctor and nurse in time if you have any discomfort.  7.During the discharge period after chemotherapy, patients need to recheck the blood routine every 2-3 days, and contact the attending professor in time for abnormal results.  8.If you have any uncomfortable symptoms, seek medical attention in time.