Can chemotherapy be used for other illnesses?
Chemotherapy is a widely used class of drugs to treat many different disorders including, but not limited to: cancers, blood disorders, and a plethora of autoimmune diseases. Similarly it can be administered in many different forms: intravenously, topically, injected, or received orally.
What diseases can be treated with chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is sometimes used to treat diseases other than cancers….Some long-lasting and late-developing effects of chemo can include:
- Lung, heart, and kidney problems.
- Infertility.
- Nerve damage, called peripheral neuropathy.
- A higher chance of getting a second cancer.
What is chemotherapy and radiation used to treat?
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are both treatments for cancer – the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells to surrounding tissues. Chemotherapy, or “chemo,” uses special drugs to shrink or kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy, or “radiation,” kills these cells with high-energy beams such as X-rays or protons.
What diseases are treated with radiation?
Radiation therapy is used to treat many conditions, including:
- Acoustic neuroma. A non-cancerous tumor that may develop from an overproduction of Schwann cells that press on the hearing and balance nerves in the inner ear.
- Arteriovenous malformations.
- Bone cancer.
- Brain tumor.
- Breast cancer.
- Cancer.
- Chondrosarcoma.
- Chordoma.
Is chemotherapy used to treat non cancerous tumors?
Conventional chemotherapy is occasionally used to shrink non-cancerous brain tumours or kill any cells left behind after surgery. Radiotherapy involves using controlled doses of high-energy radiation, usually X-rays, to kill the tumour cells. Chemotherapy is less frequently used to treat non-cancerous brain tumours.
Can chemo be used for non cancerous tumors?
What happens if I refuse chemotherapy?
Studies have reported rates of less than 1% for patients who refused all conventional treatment [4] and 3%–19% for patients who refused chemotherapy partially or completely [5–9]. We tend to think that refusing therapy leads to a poorer quality of life as the disease progresses without treatment.
Which is better radiotherapy or chemotherapy?
Since radiation therapy is focused on one area of your body, you may experience fewer side effects than with chemotherapy. However, it may still affect healthy cells in your body.
Which is better chemotherapy or radiation therapy?
The radiation beams change the DNA makeup of the tumor, causing it to shrink or die. This type of cancer treatment has fewer side effects than chemotherapy since it only targets one area of the body.
Is radiation used to treat non cancerous tumors?