Chemotherapy
Cancerous cells replicate at a higher rate than normal cells. Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancerous drugs for treatment of cancer. These drugs can be consumed orally, can be injected directly into the vein via injection, or can be applied in the form of a gel. These medicines, identify the cancerous cells and kills them. The goal of chemotherapy is to kill or slow down the replication of cancerous cells. Chemotherapy is also used to ease the pain and relieve the symptoms. The dose of chemotherapy medicine depends on the stage, the length of the treatment and general health of the patient. Chemotherapy treatment can be adopted either before or after the surgery.
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy before a surgical treatment is termed as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This helps in shrinking the tumor which makes it easy to remove during the surgery.
- Adjuvant chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy is also used after surgeries and radiation therapy in order to kill any cancerous cells that were unable to be removed after the primary treatment.
Although chemotherapy is an effective way for treating stomach cancer, it still has side effects:
- Hair loss
- Sore mouth
- Blood clots