Chemotherapy is a method used in curing cancers. In this method, the drugs are used to eliminate the cancer cells. There are different types of cancer drugs available. They are alkylating agents, anti-metabolits, anthracyclines, antitumor antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies, platinums, or plant alkaloids. Taxol is a drug used as the chemotherapy agent. It belongs to the plant alkaloid type.

chemotherapy Taxol anti cancer drug is purposely used for the treatment of solid tumors present in ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer and prostate cancer and melanoma.

Taxol drug is injected into the vein most of the times. It causes inflammation through the vein which it passed through. If the drug inserted into the vein escapes, then there is a possibility of the tissues getting damaged. Only trained and experienced practitioners are permitted to perform the Taxol chemotherapy. If the patient experiences any sort of pain or notice any swelling then he has to inform the medical practitioner as soon as possible.

One of the common reaction people acquire while undergoing taxol chemotherapy is the severe allergic conditions. Supportive medications will be provided by the doctors to avert the allergy side effects. Taxol is given in various schedules and times. It can’t be taken in form of a pill. The amount of taxol drug given to the patient depends on the health conditions, age, weight and the type of cancer.

The taxol side effects are reversible. In sense, the side effects will be on the body at the time of treatment and soon after the treatment is over, they vanish. Some of the side effects patients experience while undergoing taxol treatment are; Low blood count, Hair loss, Diarrhea, mouth ulcers and vomiting.

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It’s been estimated by some experts that by the year 2018, cancer will be the number one killer of us humans in North America. I can almost see the confused look on your face. If so much money is being poured into cancer research and so much progress being made, how can this be? Well, I imagine there’s much more money being made than progress when it comes to conventional cancer treatment. It’s obvious that some form of chemotherapy is the first choice of most doctors when it comes to treating your cancer. But is chemotherapy really safe?

chemotherapy Basically, when you have cancer and are prescribed chemotherapy, the drugs enter your bloodstream and destroy every rapidly dividing cell they can find. This means cancer cells. This means hair follicles. This means digestive tract cells, reproductive cells, and even bone marrow. This is why chemo patients become so violently ill and lose their hair during treatment. So, if your chemotherapy regimen kills your cancer before it kills you, then I guess it was a success. The cancer industry will shout about newer, gentler forms of chemo, but in order to be successful they all have to search and destroy.

According to a study published by Clinical Oncology in 2004, the average 5 year survival success rate of chemotherapy was just over 2% for all cancers. Pretty great odds, don’t you think?

Add to that the fact that many polls and questionnaires suggest that as many as 75% of doctors would refuse the very same chemotherapy treatments they’re prescribing for you! Can you believe that?

We live in a society where we’re able to make educated choices about these types of things. When it comes to chemotherapy, you should educate yourself before making any decisions. Chemotherapy is very questionable in its effectiveness and certainly unsafe. In the end, I just can’t see how something so utterly destructive can ultimately heal your body. There are many, many other options out there. You just have to take a look around.

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Chemotherapy is treatment that is generally used in the world to treat cancer. Chemotherapy pills are very effective for treating colorectal cancer as intravenous treatment. The new research tells that patient with advanced cancer need to accept this treatment than other drugs run through intravenously.

Oral chemotherapy gives fewer side effects than that of drugs receiving intravenously. Patient receiving oral chemotherapy may have better life than those receiving drugs intravenously. However, the intravenous drug 5-fluorouracil is the standard treatment whether it is used in combination or alone.

chemotherapy Chemotherapy treatment gives some side effects, whether it is used as intravenous treatment or oral. Capecitabine is the pill used to treat colon cancer, gives some fewer side effects. It is also known by the brand name Xeloda that causes tumor to shrink but causes many side effects also. Capecitabine converts into 5-FU after absorbing that help to minimize the tumors. Patients in IV regimen, receives dose of 5-fluorouracil in combination with leukovorin as a daily dose for five days in four week cycle.

The collective results proved that the patients taking Xeloda live longer for an average of 23.1 months while those who are receiving IV chemotherapy live for an average of 22.5 months. Xeloda in combination or alone is very effective it is used as IV5-FU/FA crosswise in different stages of colorectal cancer and other GI cancers. Xeloda is the standard care for CRC patients.

However, capecitabine is big attraction for patients because of its suitable use and fewer side effects. Because this, patients prefer to take the drug 5-FU in pill form rather than through an IV. It is intended to target tumor cells and is very active throughout the body.

Cancer patients who are taking oral chemotherapy respond more to treatment than standard chemotherapy and side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, hair loss and tract ulcers in gastrointestinal. These side effects found very less in patients who are taking the pill. This treatment is less toxic and more suitable than intravenous chemotherapy. However, it may cause side effects regarding to foot and hand problems such as redness and soreness.

Different types of chemotherapy pills composed of different types of chemical compound and acting on different chemical components of the cancer cell.

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Vitamin C, cancer and chemotherapy treatment is either a good or bad combination, depending on the research that’s making news.

Since this essential vitamin is known to be an antioxidant, many experts suggest it may help in the fight against cancer. But when chemotherapy drugs are involved, vitamin C may not be the supplement to use, according to a team of New York scientists whose findings are soon to appear in the journal Cancer Research.

The work, conducted in the test tube and on live mice, showed that levels of vitamin C reduced the effectiveness of some cancer drugs. These drugs are known to produce oxygen free radicals that are meant to kill the cancer cells.

If you supplement with vitamin C while taking these medications, the vitamin C is suspected of soaking up the free radicals intended for the cancer cells – letting them continue to live and grow.

“What we found is that vitamin C blunted the effectiveness of all the chemotherapy drugs we studied,” says Mark Heaney, MD, PhD, associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the study’s lead author. “What vitamin C does is protect the cancer cells from the chemotherapy mainly by protecting their mitochondria [the cell's power sources],”

Chemotherapy medications are meant to damage the mitochondria in the cancer cells, signaling the cell to die.

Here’s how the research was done. The team pretreated some leukemia and lymphoma cells (and did not treat others) with the form vitamin C takes when it enters a cell. Both sets of cells were then exposed to a range of chemo drugs including Adriamycin, Platinol, Oncovin, methotrexate and Gleevec. The effects were then measured and a 30% to 70% cut in effectiveness was observed.

Chemotherapy just was not as effective.

chemotherapy Next, the cancer cells were implanted into mice. Here the tumors pretreated with vitamin C grew more quickly than those that had not been exposed to the vitamin.

It seems that just like healthy cells, cancer cells might be able to benefit from the protective effects of vitamin C. The team felt that the buildup of vitamin C levels in cells was similar to what would result if a patient took large doses of vitamin C supplements.

The idea that vitamin C could be used to treat cancer was first put forward in the 1970s by American scientist Linus Pauling, awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954. Still the link wasn’t born out by three separate Mayo Clinic studies during the 1980s – all well designed, controlled, double blind experiments.

However, although the recent study seemed damning cancer expert, Balz Frei, PhD. the director and chair of the Linus Pauling Institute, looked at the work of the New York researchers, and mentioned some problems with the study:

- Doses of vitamin C used were very high.

- Mice produce vitamin C naturally, and even more when they are ill.

- Only leukemia and lymphoma cancers were studied.

- Only some chemotherapy agents were studied.

Frei continues to believe that very high concentrations of vitamin C, as the late Linus Pauling advocated, could well prove toxic to cancer cells. He does admit that vitamin C may be contra-indicated during some types of chemo. And while the New York researchers may discourage vitamin C supplements during chemotherapy, Frie believes that in daily doses up to 500mg it can be more helpful than harmful.

In the meantime, all sides agree that more study is needed. The recommended intake of vitamin C is 75 milligrams for women, 90 for men. Supplements come in many forms, but natural sources are always best… especially if you are undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. If you’re using any of the drugs used in the study, talk with your own doctor about how much vitamin C is right for you.

About the Author:Over 14,000 people have joined Kirsten’s popular (and sometimes controversial) Daily Health Bulletin, so why not join them and stay up to date with effective chemotherapy treatment options and other health news daily. You also get 5 comprehensive health reports free when you join – giving you all you need to treat common ailments, lose weight, look younger and feel healthy.
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