Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with drugs. There are a numberof chemotherapy drugs used to treat lung cancer. Although thechemotherapy drugs work differently, they all kill cancer cells or preventtheir growth. A single dose of chemotherapy will only kill a percentage of cancer cells. Therefore multiple doses or cycles are necessary.
Every lung cancer patient is different. How frequently the treatment is given will depend on the drugs being used, how well you tolerate the treatment and how your cancer responds to the chemotherapy. Individual patients respond differently to chemotherapy. Before starting chemotherapy, you should discuss with your doctor the side effects that you are most likely to experience and the impact that they may have on
your quality of life.
Most chemotherapy is given by intravenous injection. Normally, you can expect to receive your chemotherapy as an outpatient at the cancer center or a hospital clinic. Patients are rarely admitted to hospital for chemotherapy treatment.
Chemotherapy treatment normally continues for four to six months. Your individual treatment plan may require that you have a chemotherapy treatment one to four times a month. In addition to your chemotherapy treatments, you will also be asked to have blood tests on a regular basis, sometimes as often as once a week, at the lab near your home. Approximately once a month, you and your doctor will assess whether the tumour is responding to treatment and decide if the treatment should continue.