A look at breast cancer in men
Chemotherapy is another method of treatment for all sorts of cancers. Simply put, chemotherapy is a drug that is used by doctors in an attempt to destroy parts of the tumor or to reduce its size before surgery. It’s also been used after a surgery because doctors want the patient to ensure that there is no a reoccurrence of the cancer in the breast. It may be used before a surgery to reduce the size, after it to stop the occurrence, but above all, it can be used instead of surgery if the patient is unable to have a surgery for whatever reason. Since the chemotherapy is meant to target the cancer and destroy it, over time, the tumor might deteriorate.
One of the very important things that a doctor needs to do when treating a breast cancer patient with chemotherapy is determine the age, gender, and health of the person. There are numerous different types of regimens (types) of chemotherapy: CMF, FAC, AC, just to name a few. Because of this, the doctor needs to determine which type to give a breast cancer patient. One patient might do fine with CMF, but do horrible with FAC. Another patient might do fine with AC, but do horrible with FAC. It is the doctor’s job to determine which type of chemotherapy is best suited for the particular patient. And each patient is very different.
The thing about chemotherapy is that it does not just target the cancer cells. It has no ability to determine right from wrong. All the chemotherapy knows, in a sense, is that it needs to kill. That’s why chemotherapy patients tend to lose their hair. The chemotherapy targets the cells of the hair and the hair just falls out. Certain chemotherapies don’t do this, obviously, but a lot of them do. Another thing that the chemotherapy tends to target is the white blood cells. The white blood cells are what protect the body against infection. If there are not enough of them, the body can get an infection and even while fighting off the cancer, the patient could die. To combat against this, doctors tend to give some sort of a growth factor (for example pegfilgrastim) to the body so that it reduces the rate of infection and the deterioration of the leukocytes. Unfortunately, for as long as the chemotherapy is being used, there will be destruction of leukocytes.
If a patient has cancer and the doctor recommends chemotherapy, the patient should seriously consider it. The chemotherapy, while it can do damage to the body, can also do significant damage to the cancer in the body. And, sometimes, it is better to suffer from some uncomfortable side effects and to live rather than to try and battle the cancer without any chemotherapy and to potentially die. Chemotherapy is a great way to destroy cancer; however, patients need to know that it does come with side effects, such as an increase in sickness as well as hair loss. However, in the end, a body without cancer is a healthier body and that’s the important thing.