Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment. Sometimes called “chemo,” it is among many different types of cancer treatments that use medicines to treat cancers. At ILS Hospital Howrah we have one of the best teams of oncologists to provide patients with personalised chemo treatment plans.

How Does Chemotherapy Works?

Cancer cells grow and multiply uncontrollably. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells and prevents them from growing again. An oncologist might use chemotherapy in a number of ways.

• Adjuvant therapy: Chemotherapy kills cancer cells following surgery or radiation therapy.
• Curative treatment: Chemotherapy destroys the cancer and keeps it from returning. It can also include radiation and surgery.
• Neoadjuvant treatment: Chemotherapy reduces a tumor before surgery or radiation therapy.
• Palliative treatment: Chemotherapy reduces tumors and alleviates symptoms, but doesn’t treat cancer.

Procedure Details

Oncologists conduct tests to ascertain whether patients are healthy enough to be treated. Meanwhile, patients can get ready for chemotherapy:

• Learn everything possible about your treatment.
• Prepare for side effects.
• Go see a dentist.
• Ease financial concerns.
• Plan at work.
• Have a treatment routine.
• During treatment

Patients’ experience will depend on how the oncologist gives them the chemotherapy medicines. Chemotherapy is often systemic, meaning that the chemotherapy medication goes all through the patient’s body. The patient can receive systemic chemotherapy:

• Intravenously (IV), or into a vein as an “infusion.” Most patients have chemotherapy given through an IV.
• As an injection or shot.
• Orally, as a pill or liquid to swallow.
• Topically, in the form of a cream that patients rub onto their skin.

Not all tumors react to chemotherapy given throughout the body. In certain cases, patients will need chemotherapy injected to a specific area of their body. Examples are:

• Intra-arterial chemotherapy: delivered through one single artery that supplies a tumor with blood.
• Intracavitary chemotherapy: delivered directly into a cavity of the patient’s body, like the bladder or stomach. One approach is hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). It delivers hot chemotherapy to the patient’s belly after surgery.
• Intrathecal chemotherapy: Enters the space between the patient’s spinal cord and brain.

Why Choose ILS Hospital, Howrah for Chemotherapy?

At ILS Hospitals we make sure that the patient receives the best treatment possible. We focus on recovery and emotional well-being. Services like psychological counselling, physical therapy, and nutrition counselling are an important part of post-treatment care. It helps patients regain their strength and confidence.