How is Chemotherapy Used to Treat Colon Cancer?

Chemotherapy Is Used Alone or with Other Treatments to Manage Colon Cancer

Chemotherapy can be an effective way to manage colon cancer, either alone or used together with other forms of treatment, such as surgery and radiation therapy.

What is Chemotherapy?

The term chemotherapy covers a lot of different medications that are used to treat cancer. Some of these medications are given intravenously (into a vein), in an outpatient setting. Other forms of chemotherapy are taken orally, as a pill. A few types of chemotherapy may require that you are admitted to the hospital for a day or two to receive them, but this is less common.

How Does Chemotherapy Work?

Many chemotherapy medications target fast-growing cells. Cancer cells typically grow more rapidly than other body cells. This means chemotherapy will affect cancer cells more than most other cells in the body. Unfortunately, some of our normal healthy cells do grow and divide rapidly as well, and these are affected by chemotherapy, too. This includes hair and skin cells, immune system cells, and cells in the mouth, throat, and digestive tract.

How is Chemotherapy Given?

Typically, chemotherapy is given in cycles. For example, you might take chemotherapy once a week for eight weeks. You might take chemotherapy once a month for nine months. Or you might take chemotherapy every day for one full week, followed by three weeks off, with this pattern repeating for several months. The schedule will depend on your cancer and the type of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is given as an infusion, meaning into your vein or intravenously (IV). Some forms of chemotherapy are taken as pills. How your receive your chemotherapy will depend on the type of medications your doctors feel is best for treating your cancer.

What are the Side Effects of Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy affects hair, skin, immune system, mouth, throat, and digestive tract cells the most, so common side effects include hair loss, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea, and low immune cell (blood) counts. If you talk to someone who went through chemotherapy 15 or even 10 years ago, you may hear about these side effects and other "horrors" of cancer treatment.

Fortunately, there are many more medications today to manage chemotherapy side effects than in years past. You shouldn’t assume that because someone you know had a difficult experience with cancer treatment that you will, too. So many medical advances have been made in recent years that other than hair loss, many cancer patients experience few major side effects.

How Do I Manage Chemotherapy Side Effects?

The two most important things you can do to manage side effects of chemotherapy are to:

1. Take all of your medications as prescribed, because it’s easier to prevent side effects than to treat them once they occur.
2. Keep the lines of communication open with your medical team. What works to manage side effects for one person may not work for you. Talk to your doctor or nurse about options to help you get through treatment with minimum side effects.

Don’t accept that feeling badly is a natural part of chemotherapy. Many side effects can be eliminated or at least minimized enough to allow you to continue the activities that matter most to you.

Do I Need to Follow a Special Diet During Chemotherapy?

You can ask your doctor, nurse, or dietitian about special diet guidelines for during chemotherapy, but some general diet guidelines include:

• Avoid raw or undercooked meat and eggs, deli meats, and food served from bulk containers if your blood counts are low.
• Always use safe food handling practices in your home.
• Always thoroughly wash or peel raw fruit and vegetables if you blood counts are low.
• Drink plenty of water, about 8 cups per day, in order to help your kidneys process the chemotherapy medications.
• Avoid acidic food, such as citrus fruit and juice, if your mouth or throat is sore.
• Avoid dry and crunchy food such as crackers, dry cereal, or dry toast if your mouth is sore.
• Avoid alcohol unless your medical team says it is OK to drink.
• Avoid over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, herbs, vitamins, or minerals unless your doctor, nurse, or dietitian has given you the OK to use them.