Depending on the type of cancer and how advanced it is, chemotherapy can be used to cure, control or relieve the symptoms of cancer.
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that utilizes anticancer drugs to destroy cancer cells. Normal cells grow and die in a controlled way. Cancer cells keep dividing and forming more cells without control.
Anticancer drugs destroy cancer cells by stopping them from growing or multiplying. Healthy cells can also be harmed, but they usually repair themselves after chemotherapy.
Because some drugs work better in combination, our board certified physicians, may prescribe two or more drugs at once. |
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| Other types of drugs that block the effect of the body's hormones may also be used. In addition, doctors may use biological therapy with drugs like Remicade that boost the body's own immune system against cancer. |
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| Sometimes chemotherapy is the only treatment a patient receives. More often, chemotherapy is used in addition to surgery, radiation therapy, and/or biological therapy to: |
 Shrink a tumor before surgery or radiation treatment. |
| Help destroy any cancer cells that may remain after surgery and/or radiation therapy. |
 Make radiation therapy and biological therapy work better. |
| Help destroy cancer if it recurs or has spread to other parts of the body from the original tumor. |
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