Table of Contents

Chapter 7: The Role of Chemotherapy

c. Getting the Maximum Benefit From Your Chemotherapy Regimen

Most of the chemotherapies available today are given intravenously—the liquid drug is introduced into your body through a needle inserted into a vein. Unlike the pills we’re used to taking, such as aspirin or even blood pressure medications, which come in standardized dose and schedules of 10 mg, 250 mg, once a week, and three times a day, the dosing schedule for chemotherapy drugs varies from person to person depending on your weight and height, stage of disease, and a host of other factors.

It’s pretty common for a few drugs to be used together. Although they’re all designed to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells, each one tends to work in a slightly different way, and using two or more together or one after another in a row can often be more effective than just using one drug alone. You might receive one drug on one day and another drug three days later, or you might receive both on the same day and have to wait an hour in between. The exact dosing schedule will be carefully laid out by your doctors and nurses to ensure that you’re getting the most effective treatment possible.

It’s ok if you don’t understand—or don’t care to understand—how and why your doctor chose a particular treatment regimen for you. But you will need to pay careful attention to the instructions given to you by your doctor, nurse, and/or pharmacist about when to come into the office for a treatment, when and how to take any portion of the regimen that might be in pill form, and, most importantly, what sorts of side effects you should look for and when it might be time to call your doctor’s office for help. Side effects from some chemotherapy drugs can take a toll on many people. This is not a time to be brave or to ignore warning signs that something might be bothering you. Your doctors, nurses, and pharmacists want you to get well, but they can’t help you unless you keep them up to date on how you’re faring.