Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for leukemia because it is a systematic treatment designed to kill cancer cells in all parts of the body. This can be especially useful since the abnormal cells formed due to leukemia tend to travel to other parts of the body and collect in those parts. Chemotherapy can be taken as an individual drug or as a combination of drugs.

An Effective Treatment

Chemotherapy drugs can be taken by mouth, but they are usually given by injection under the skin, into the muscle, or into a vein. Sometimes, they may be given through a catheter. This is usually the case when multiple drugs are administered in order to prevent damage or soreness to the injection site from multiple needles. The chemotherapy drugs work by entering the blood and seeking out the cancer cells in most parts of the body. They then work by systematically destroying the cells, preventing the abnormal cells from growing and reproducing.

While chemotherapy is usually a very effective treatment, it does not often reach cancer cells that may have relocated into the body’s central nervous system. This is because the drugs are not able to penetrate the barrier to the brain and spinal cord formed by a network of blood vessels. These vessels work to filter the blood that reaches the brain and spinal cord, and the chemotherapy drugs may not be able to break through. Doctors can get around this barrier by injecting the chemotherapy drugs directly into the cerebrospinal fluid.

Since the drugs used in chemotherapy treatment are extremely potent in order to kill the cancer cells, they are usually given in periods of treatment and recovery. This can be done over a number of weeks depending on the patient’s case. While a hospital stay is not usually needed, it may sometimes be necessary as the patient recovers from the effects of the drugs. These effects can include hair loss, fatigue, and nausea among other side effects. Yet, chemotherapy remains one of the best and most viable treatments for patients with leukemia as it enters the blood stream directly and targets the abnormal cells there.