Chemotherapy

Traditionally, the aim of treating a patient with chemotherapy is to try and cure the patient of their cancer completely - this is known as ‘curative’ chemotherapy. Chemotherapy may also be used to reduce the risk of cancer returning after treatment or removal surgery or used to reduce the risk or prevent cancer cells from spreading. In certain cases, where the cancer cannot be cured, palliative chemotherapy is offered to relieve patient symptoms.

Not all cancers are treated with the same chemotherapy drugs or in the same way. There are many different types of chemotherapy available and new drugs are being developed all the time depending on a patient’s treatment needs.

We use two methods for administering chemotherapy drugs at Rutherford Cancer Centres. Intravenously, which administers chemotherapy drugs or combination chemotherapy regime directly into the bloodstream via a small needle inserted into the hand or arm and orally, via tablets.

Intravenous chemotherapy takes place in our state-of-the-art infusion suites, with space for up to ten treatment areas. Our areas are designed with comfort in mind with plenty of natural lighting and comfortable seating. Patients can choose to take treatment in the open ward, alongside other chemotherapy patients, or in a side room, where they can relax in private with a personal computer or tablet for entertainment.

Chemotherapy is not administered as a single treatment. Instead, the length of the chemotherapy treatment is split into the full course of the treatment and the individual cycles of treatment. Both the course and cycle of each chemotherapy treatment are dependent on a patient’s specific type of cancer, however, the course of chemotherapy can typically take place between 3-6 months, while the cycles tend to last 3-4 weeks at a time. The full course of chemotherapy will commonly be made up of between 4-8 cycles of chemotherapy with a break in-between to allow the body time to recover.

Individual chemotherapy treatments delivered intravenously may take several hours or in some cases, up to a full day, however, the chemotherapy nurses will be able to discuss in detail how long each treatment will take. They will also be able to provide information on the full course or cycle lengths of the treatment.