Chemotherapy (chemo) is a type of treatment that includes a medication or combination of medications to treat cancer. The goal of chemo is to stop or slow the growth of cancer cells. Chemo is considered a systemic therapy. This means it may affect your entire body. Chemo medications attack rapidly growing cancer cells, but they can also affect healthy cells that grow rapidly. The effect of these medications on normal cells often causes chemo side effects. For example:

The good news is that many of these chemo side effects can be managed.

Next: How Chemo Works

  • The Chemotherapy and Infection Discussion Guide can help you understand your
    risk of infection

    Infection can be a serious side effect of strong chemo. Find out the factors that affect your risk of infection. Simply answer a few questions, and then print your results to share with your doctor.

    Use the Chemotherapy and Infection Discussion Guide to find out more.

  • How Cells Divide and How Chemotherapy Works

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