COMPLETE Guide For Chemotherapy Effects and It's Treatment

Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs

Chemotherapy is a mode of treatment for all kinds of cancer that also includes cancer. The chemotherapy drugs used here are chemicals which are known to destroy these cancerous cells that are known to divide very quickly thus spreading cancer. The different drugs used are also known to help treat breast cancer. Doctors recommend the use of combination drugs to treat breast cancer. Here the drugs used can be more than two. But sometimes doctors recommend the use of single drug or single drug chemotherapy.

The drugs that are commonly used for the treatment of breast cancer are: Epirubicin, Methotrexate, Mitozantrone or mitoxantrone, Docetaxel or Taxotere, Vinorelbine or Navelbine, Capecitabine or Xeloda, Cyclophosphamide, 5 FU or 5-Fluorouracil, Mitomycin, Doxorubicin or Adriamycin, Paclitaxel or Taxol, Gemcitabine or Gemzar, Carboplatin or Paraplatin.

Yet another mode of treatment is that of adjuvant chemotherapy where chemotherapy is suggested after the patient undergoes surgery or even radiation. This mode of treatment is usually applied to patients of breast cancer. In case of adjuvant chemotherapy is for about 4-8 cycles with a combination of two or three drugs like anthracycline, doxorubicin or epirubicin. Chemotherapy drug especially Taxotere is recommended to women who have been detected with breast cancer in the initial stages after surgery. Docetaxel or Taxotere is used as a combination drug along with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin which is also known as TAC regime.

Combination drugs have proved to be more effective as compared to single drug chemotherapy as the side effects too are not as severe as in case of single drug chemotherapy. The results are also good thus increasing the chances of survival as well as preventing recurrence of cancer. Though various other combination of drugs are used to treat breast cancer like CMF (Cytoxan, methotrexate and 5-FU), E-CMF (epirubicin, 5-FU and cyclophosphamide), MMM( Mitozantrone, methotrexate and mitomycin), CAF or FAC (cyclophosphamide, FEC ( cyclophosphamide, fluorouracil and cpirubicin), AC(doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide), MM(methotrexate and mitozantrone), TC (taxotere and cyclophosphamide), EC( cyclophosphamide and epirubicin), TAC(taxotere, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin), AC-T(Adriamycin and cyclophamide which is followed by taxol or docetaxel), A-CMF( adriamcyin which follows CMF), GT (Gemzar and taxol). These are some of the drugs that are being used for their effectiveness to fight against cancer.

Other drugs like carboplatin, vinorelbine, capecitabine, cisplatin, and albumin-bound with abraxane is also used to treat breast cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are known to destroy all types of cancers but then these drugs are also known to damage the normal cells that surround these cancerous cells.

The side effects normally are temporary and disappear after the completion of the treatment. The side effects are loss of hair, fatigue, loss of memory, vomiting, bleeding etc. Some permanent side effects are that these drugs tend to affect the lining of the digestive system, the lungs, liver and even the reproductive organs. Different combinations of chemo drugs are known to give different types of side effects. The side effects differ from patient to patient and also depending upon the stage of cancer and the overall body capacity of the patient.