First Kind of Lung Cancer Treatment Chemotherapy

How does chemotherapy work? Healthy normal cells usually grow and will divide regularly to replace old or damaged cells. But cancer cells have lost that capacity and divide out of control.

So chemotherapy drugs are used to interfere with the ability of cancer cells to divide and reproduce themselves. Chemotherapy is delivered by the bloodstream to reach cancer cells all over the body, or administered directly to specific cancer sites.

Each class of chemotherapy drugs damage cells in different ways:

• Prevent the copying of cellular components needed to divide
• Replace or eliminate essential enzymes or nutrients the cells needed to survive
• Trigger cells to self-destruct

Each chemotherapy drug works in a different way to prevent lung cells from growing. Often several chemotherapy drug are associated used, which each drug attacking the cancer cells in a different way. This can great decrease the possibility that cancer cells will survive, continue to grow and become resistant.

But chemotherapy also can cause side effects. Chemotherapy drugs can target and damage normal cells. But normal cells can immediately repair damaged or replaced by other healthy cells, that's why the side effects are usually temporary.

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