Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy – What is it and How it is Used?
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs used target the cells that are growing or dividing quickly, and cancer cells do both much faster than normal body cells.
Chemotherapy drugs will also affect normal cells, but to a much lesser degree, and periods of rest when no treatment is given will allow the normal cells to recover. Chemotherapy is used to remove cancer cells that have escaped from the main breast tumour into the blood stream.
If such cells are left, they can act as ‘seeds’ for new tumours and result in metastatic spread.
These cells may not be detectable by physical examination, blood tests or by standard X-rays and scans. Chemotherapy can prolong life in patients with early invasive breast cancer.