Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy: An Introduction
Pancreatic cancer chemotherapy is a treatment for the disease that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy stops the growth of the cells by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. Doctors may also use chemotherapy to help reduce pain and other problems caused by pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy may be given alone, with radiation, or with surgery and radiation.
In the case of pancreatic cancer, anticancer drugs can be administered as systemic or regional chemotherapy. Systemic chemotherapy, taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, allows the drugs to enter the bloodstream and reach cancer cells throughout the body. Regional chemotherapy allows the drugs to affect cancer cells in specific areas, depending on where the chemotherapy is placed.
Although pancreatic cancer chemotherapy is an normally outpatient treatment that is given at the hospital, clinic, doctor's office, or home, patients may need to stay in the hospital for treatment in some cases.
Side Effects of Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy
The side effects of pancreatic cancer chemotherapy will depend on the drugs and the doses that the patient receives. Side effects can be different for each patient.
Pancreatic cancer chemotherapy affects rapidly dividing cells throughout the body, including blood cells. Blood cells fight infection, help the blood to clot, and carry oxygen to all parts of the body. When anticancer drugs damage blood cells, patients are more likely to get infections, bruise or bleed easily, and have less energy.
Other cells that may be affected include the cells in hair roots and the cells that line the digestive tract. As a result, patients may lose their hair and have a poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, or mouth sores. In most cases, these side effects will go away during the recovery periods between treatments or after treatment is complete.
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