If cancer is compared to a hornet’s nest, then the operation is done when the hornets are all asleep, and the hornet’s nest is usually built in a high place that cannot be reached by ordinary people. When you can’t get close to the pot, you can also use fire attack, which is radiotherapy; but the most terrifying thing is that although the honeycomb has been smashed, some wasps have left the honeycomb to stand on their own. At this time, a large area of pesticides needs to be used. , in order to avoid a resurgence, that is, chemotherapy. Under normal circumstances, cancer cells move, stay, take root, and multiply in the body through blood and lymph circulation. It is difficult to “one size fits all” to avoid future problems. Therefore, chemotherapy is the most commonly used and most effective means of treating cancer. Troika”.
Hair loss, rashes, nausea, vomiting, thrombocytopenia… Chemotherapy is a “love-hate” that kills cancer cells while also killing cancer cells. It brings many side effects to the body. Therefore, the doctors of Meizhong Jiahe often encounter some doubts encountered by patients during the chemotherapy process, such asWhy does chemotherapy need a 21-day cycle? Can you postpone it for a while, “conditioning” at home for a month or two, and then go to the next chemotherapy? Chemotherapy is too painful. Instead of fighting for time with death, why not fight for a quality life? Hear from the experts.
Why is the chemotherapy cycle generally 21 days?
Some chemotherapy regimens are weekly, that is, once a week. The chemotherapy regimen for colorectal cancer is once every 2 weeks, but More chemotherapy regimens are 21-day courses. 21 days (i.e. 3 weeks) is scientifically based and set based on the duration of toxic side effects of chemotherapy drugs, human recovery time and tumor doubling time strong>.
How exactly is 21 days calculated? It is from the 1st day to the 21st day of the injection or oral chemotherapy. For example, if the chemotherapy of paclitaxel combined with carboplatin was performed on November 1, 2019, the next chemotherapy will be on November 22, 2019. The same oral chemotherapy drugs are also used. Oral Sigio chemotherapy was carried out on November 1, 2019, so the next chemotherapy time is November 22, 2019.
Usually, the first week is generally used for chemotherapy administration; the second week, the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs will reach its peak, and it is also the most closely monitored. period of time; in week 3, the body begins to repair and replenish the damage caused by chemotherapy.
1 to 3 weeks after chemotherapy, if myelosuppression is found, in order to be able to carry out the next chemotherapy on time, the patient will be treated clinically. White needles, oral whitening medicine, or food supplements to prepare for the next chemotherapy.
Can a chemotherapy cycle be earlier or later?
Some patients ask their doctors “Can chemotherapy be done earlier?” Obviously not. Chemotherapy in advance is equivalent to increasing the dose of chemotherapy drugs and increasing the toxic side effects of chemotherapy drugs.
Any chemotherapy drug, or a combination of several chemotherapy drugs, can only destroy a fixed percentage of tumor cells in each course of treatment.
A very popular analogy is: If chemotherapy can kill 50% of tumor cells each time, it will only kill 50% next time. of tumor cells, although the tumor burden had been greatly reduced by the previous chemotherapy.
Then, ideally, after the first course of treatment, 50% of tumor cells remain, and after the second course of treatment, there are still 50% of tumor cells left. The next 25%, 12.5% after the third course of treatment, the fourth, the fifth, and finally, the remaining tumor cells need to be cleared by their own immune system.
However, we do not live in an ideal world. After being devastated by chemotherapy drugs, tumor cells will continue to proliferate when they are relieved. That is to say, you are playing and growing. Every chemotherapy is actually a race against time and stubborn tumor cells. If you stop and rest in the middle for no reason, you may lose the game, and the consequences will be disastrous!
The chemotherapy was not carried out on time according to the 21-day schedule. Will a few days of delay affect the curative effect?
In life, there may indeed be many reasons for the delay of chemotherapy, such as: white blood cells, platelets not reaching the standard, infection , there are no beds, holidays and other reasons. The chemotherapy cycle is set according to the duration of toxic and side effects of chemotherapy drugs, human recovery time and tumor doubling time. Generally speaking, delaying for a few days will not have much impact on the curative effect, but if you postpone multiple chemotherapy treatments, or “conditioning” at home for one or two months during the course of treatment, the curative effect will be affected.Influence.
Why stoppages between chemotherapy cycles?
The repeated or sequential use of chemotherapy drugs during chemotherapy generally requires a certain interval. In patients, malignant tumor cells often renew faster than normal blood cells, such as white blood cells, platelets, and epithelial cells, so chemotherapy kills the most tumor cells. At the same time, the normal cells of the body are inevitably injured by accident, resulting in many adverse reactions during the treatment. Therefore, a certain rest period must be used to restore the normal cells, so that the normal tissues or organs of the body can tolerate it and increase the curative effect.
The length of the intermittent period should be based on“the toxic effect of the drug basically disappears, and the normal function of the body is basically obtained. recovery, while the killed tumor cells have not been repaired”, such a time is the best time. The speed of the growth rate of malignant tumor volume, the timing of application of chemotherapy drugs, and the length of the interval all have a significant impact on the curative effect. Therefore, for malignant tumor cells that grow too fast, continuous medication for 1 to 2 weeks is a course of treatment, and a second course of treatment is given after an interval of 2 to 3 weeks.
The interval between chemotherapy for lymphoma is generally 14 to 28 days, that is, 2 to 4 weeks. However, this is not absolute, and needs to be analyzed according to specific issues such as individual constitution and chemotherapy effect.
Why did the doctor adjust your chemotherapy schedule?
It’s not okay to adjust the chemotherapy time on your own, but some patients wonder: Why did the doctor adjust the patient’s chemotherapy time?
Because the doctor will decide the frequency and interval of chemotherapy according to the effect of chemotherapy and the physical condition of the patient.
Sometimes doctors modify a patient’s chemotherapy plan due to things like side effects. In the course of chemotherapeutic drug treatment, the correct evaluation of the effectiveness of the drug is a very critical issue.
Before and after chemotherapy, blood tests and CT will be repeated to evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy. Doctors use complete remission (CR) and partial remission (PR) of the tumor. ), tumor stabilization (SD), tumor progression (PD) and other medical terms to summarize the treatment effect during this period.
For most patients with tumors insensitive to drug therapy or advanced tumors, the theoretical CR (complete remission), PR ( partial tumor response) is impractical. When treating tumors, not only changes in tumor size, but also the quality of life and the length of survival of patients need to be considered. Many patients with advanced tumors can survive with tumor for a long time through comprehensive treatment, and the efficacy and practical significance of such treatment are no less than the results of CR and PR.
Chemotherapy is too painful, should I stop and let it flow?
In the eyes of some patients, life itself is the most important, no matter how painful it is to live, he must live, even if Faced with the terrible side effects of chemotherapy, they have no intention of backing down. They have only one goal: to cure the disease and live as long as possible!
However, in the opinion of some patients, it is better to live with dignity than to prolong life without quality, and to accept all kinds of pain and suffering in order to prolong life. Treatment is tantamount to torture of life, and they would rather give up.
While these patients may have the same disease, their life philosophies are very different.
The difference of each patient’s wishes is not only reflected in the consideration of the quality of life, but may also include their attitude towards life, and Relationships between family members, affordability of the financial cost of treatment, etc. It can be said that every patient seeing a doctor is a reflection of his outlook on life and values.
For doctors, various guidelines or procedures of diagnosis and treatment give doctors a lot of reference for treatment, but guidelines are not regulations or dogmas that must be followed. They are full of words like “in principle”, “may be considered”. On the one hand, doctors will follow the guidelines for use, and on the other hand, they will respect the individualized treatment of patients.
Take breast cancer as an example, as one of the high incidence cancers in Chinese women, breast cancer treatment effect is relatively good. According to Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest breast cancer charity organization, 15% of breast cancer patients in the United States survive for more than 5 years, and some patients can even survive for 10-20 years. Early-stage breast cancer patients have an early survival rate of 95%. Breast cancer requires comprehensive treatment, such as neoadjuvant therapy, surgery, postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy or targeted therapy according to the pathological type. If you have cancer, don’t be pessimistic. Early detection and active treatment can be cured; even if the disease is severe, long-term survival with tumor is the norm.
Cancer patients shouldnot give upand < /span>Not reluctantly, take multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment according to their own conditions, if there is really no hope of cure, then it is best to take palliative treatment to improve the quality of life of patients .
Write at the end
< span>People have the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. The pain caused by the disease itself is fickle and elusive, while the possible adverse consequences of a certain treatment plan are often relatively clear, such as cancer chemotherapy. There are side effects and the process is painful, so patients may give up opportunities for possible benefits because they place too much emphasis on the risks of treatment.
It is recommended that patients communicate with the attending doctor to determine the treatment plan, and must not adjust the chemotherapy time or stop the chemotherapy plan by themselves; sometimes due to chemotherapy effects and side effects In other cases, the doctor will modify your chemotherapy plan. Be sure to follow the doctor’s arrangement and remember the time of the next chemotherapy.