Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of chemical drug therapy meant to destroy rapidly growing cells in the body. It is usually used for cancer, as cancer cells grow and divide faster than other cells.
Chemotherapy is often used in combination with other therapies, such as surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy. However, this depends on the stage and type of cancer, your overall health, previous cancer treatments, location of cancer cells, and your personal treatment preferences.
It is considered a systemic treatment, which means it affects the entire body.
While chemotherapy has been proven to effectively attack cancer cells, it can cause serious side effects that can severely impact your quality of life. You should weigh these side effects against the risk of not getting treatment when deciding if chemotherapy is right for you.