Chemotherapy at EHS

What is Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a common cancer treatment that uses powerful medications to kill the cancer cells that are multiplying in your body. Because cancer cells grow faster than most healthy cells, chemotherapy is especially effective in targeting and destroying them.

At the Episcopal Health Services (EHS) Cancer Center, we offer advanced chemotherapy options on the Rockaway Peninsula tailored to your type of cancer, health needs, and treatment goals. These options include combining chemotherapy with other treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, or immunotherapy to ensure that we achieve the best outcomes for you.

How Does Chemotherapy Work?

Chemotherapy drugs interfere with cancer cell growth in different ways, such as:

• Damaging a cell’s control center (the nucleus)
• Interrupting chemical signals essential for division
• Preventing cancer cells from copying their DNA
• Targeting cells at specific points in the cell cycle

Because cancer cells divide more rapidly than normal cells, chemotherapy is more likely to affect them, but some healthy cells may also be impacted.

How Is Chemotherapy Administered?

Chemotherapy can be delivered through:

• Intravenous Infusion: This is delivered through a vein in your arm or a port implanted in your chest
• Oral Chemotherapy: This treatment is typically pills or capsules that you swallow
• Injection: This is a shot administered directly into the muscle or under the skin
• Topical Creams: These are medicines for certain skin cancers
• Regional Chemotherapy: This type of chemotherapy is delivered directly to specific body areas such as your abdomen or bladder
• Localized Treatment: This involves dissolvable implanted drug wafers near a tumor site post-surgery

Your EHS Cancer Center oncology team will determine the most effective method of delivering chemotherapy based on your cancer type and overall health.

What Are the Chemotherapy Risks or Side Effects?

You may experience temporary or long-term side effects from chemotherapy depending on the drug type used and dosage. Common side effects include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Hair loss
• Fatigue
• Mouth sores
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Easy bruising or bleeding

Some side effects may appear months or years later, such as:

• Heart or lung damage
• Infertility
• Nerve damage (neuropathy)
• Risk of secondary cancer

Your EHS Comprehensive Cancer Center oncology team will closely monitor your response to treatment and provide support that helps minimize any side effects you experience.