ABSTRACT
Chemotherapy simply means drug treatment. Cancer chemotherapy usually means using drugs that can kill cancer cells. There are many different cancer chemotherapy drugs available so treatments can be very different. Cancer chemotherapy aims to kill cancer cells, but it also kills normal cells, so the aim is to have the maximum effect on the cancer while keeping damage to normal cells to a minimum. As cells die they are replaced by new cells. Cells divide at different rates and faster growing cells tend to be more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. Some chemotherapy drugs also kill 'resting' cancer cells. Using several cancer chemotherapy drugs together kills more cancer cells, minimises the damage to normal cells, and reduces the chance of the tumour becoming resistant to treatment. Getting chemotherapy into the body only a few chemotherapy drugs are well absorbed by mouth. Most have to be given directly into the bloodstream, sometimes through a fine tube used long-term.
