Oral Chemotherapy: Why You Have to Take It

What is oral chemotherapy? The term refers to the way of administering chemotherapy, namely taking chemo drugs by mouth. Chemotherapy is medicine used in treating cancer and the ways to apply it are multiple. Nowadays, oral chemotherapy is not the only option cancer patients have, as science has come up with other ways of medicine administration adequate for a patient’s condition. Thus oral chemotherapy refers to any drug administered by mouth. The effects of pills remains identical to that of intravenous medication for instance, with the specification that the incidence of digestive adverse reactions will be a lot higher.

The structure of certain medications makes them incompatible with oral chemotherapy, as they cannot be absorbed at the level of the stomach. So as to avoid side effects, many anti-cancer drugs are administered intravenously through a line. In the case of oral chemotherapy, the treatment is more facile as the patient can do it at home, without being forced to go to hospital every time it is applied.

A good way to organize oral chemotherapy is in cycles of administration. Thus, the possibility to damage healthy cells is reduced and drugs are allowed to destroy more cancerous cells. Obviously, the doctor is the one who will decide how frequently (daily, weekly, monthly, etc) medication will be taken. Anyway, there should be a patient-doctor discussion concerning the advantages and disadvantages of a treatment scheme so that the patient may know what to expect. Good information will stimulate the cancer sufferer to make a positive decision concerning the normal course of action.

Even if oral chemotherapy drugs have a lower intensity in terms of adverse reactions and impact on the stomach, side effect do exist. Tiredness for a few days after beginning the treatment, nausea and vomiting, possible change in the amount of blood cells – anemia, lower capability of the blood to clot, diarrhea or constipation, flu-like symptoms, hair loss, increased risk of infection, kidney or bladder problems, mouth, gum and throat sores, pains, and nerve and muscle problems, are some of the long list of side effects of oral chemotherapy, just the same as those of any other form of chemotherapy treatments. In order to better cope with the situation and undergo the treatment as efficiently as possible, the patient should ask the doctor for recommendations to minimize the adverse reactions and make the condition bearable.

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