If the chemo kills the metastases?
Treatment of metastases is a serious problem for cancer patients. One of the methods of destruction of metastases, i.e. secondary foci of tumor, chemotherapy. The goal of chemotherapy is to suppress the growth, to stop the spread of cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be used before and after removal of the primary focus. Official medicine claims that using this treatment can save or prolong the patient's life. However, if the chemo kills the metastases? Some scholars question and cite relevant statistics.
What is metastasis?
Metastases represent a new tumor foci developing in various places of the body from cancer cells that have detached from primary tumors. These cells are the body with blood or lymph, it also applies inside the body cavity.
The presence of metastases, especially during their active growth, it is dangerous for the patient. As a rule, even more dangerous than primary tumors. It is therefore considered that chemotherapy for metastases needs to start early to have time to destroy cancer cells before secondary foci will cause irreparable damage to organs and tissues.
What is chemotherapy?
This treatment is a pill or drip of drugs that are cellular poisons. Anticancer drugs destroy the internal structure of the cell membranes of cancer cells, causing their destruction. Unfortunately, come under attack not only cancer, but also blood cells, mucous membranes, gonads, and bone marrow. Therefore, as a result of chemotherapy and develops a lot of side effects.
In modern medical practices typically use a combination of several drugs, as a rule, such treatment is more effective.
It is very important to set the dose. Most often it is determined individually. There should be a balance between the efficiency of destruction of cancer cells and the degree of development of the unpleasant side effects, i.e., preserving an acceptable quality of life of the patient.
How to understand whether chemotherapy in a particular case? It held special blood tests. You can hear the opinion that the degree of side effects indicates the degree of therapeutic effects. In fact, these processes are not connected. In most cases the influence of drugs during chemotherapy is associated with several conditions:
- The development of cancer,
- The age of the patient,
- The volume and nature of primary treatment (surgery).
Types of chemotherapy:
- Neoadjuvant,
- Adjuvant,
- Palliative.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is to reduce the activity and size of the tumor before the surgical treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy is a secondary treatment that is administered after surgical removal of the primary tumor. Palliative chemotherapy is a treatment that aims to relieve suffering, to prolong life and to ensure its higher quality. This method is used when the active tumor processes that cannot be stopped or slowed, also in cases of inoperable tumors.
Can chemotherapy to beat cancer?
Many patients manage to keep alive and extend its thanks to the treatment with anticancer agents. However, to guarantee in every case is impossible.
Someone manages to fully cope with the disease, since cancer cells are destroyed, and with the side effects of the body gradually cope. In other patients the cancer cells remain alive and active, and the movement of metastases after chemotherapy continues.
Why chemotherapy isineffective:
- Is a weakening of the General immunity of the body,
- Because of the systemic action of medicines healthy cells start to produce specific proteins that fuel cancer cells and promote metastasis,
- Possible individual reaction of the organism.