Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffChemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in your body. Chemotherapy is most often used to treat cancer, since cancer cells grow and multiply much more quickly than most cells in the body.
Many different chemotherapy drugs are available. Chemotherapy drugs can be used alone or in combination to treat a wide variety of cancers.
Though chemotherapy is an effective way to treat many types of cancer, chemotherapy treatment also carries a risk of side effects. Some chemotherapy side effects are mild and treatable, while others can cause serious complications.
References
- Freter CE, et al. Systemic therapy. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008:449.
- Chemotherapy and you: Support for people with cancer. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/chemotherapy-and-you/AllPages. Accessed March 11, 2011.
- Chemotherapy principles: An in-depth discussion of the techniques and its role in cancer treatment. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002995-pdf. Accessed March 11, 2011.
- Learning more about your disease. National Marrow Donor Program. http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Lrn_about_Disease/index.html. Accessed March 11, 2011.
- Cyclophosphamide. American College of Rheumatology. http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/medications/cyclophosphamide.asp. Accessed March 11, 2011.
- Moynihan TJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 5, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on