Chemotherapy is cancer treatment using anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is commonly less used to treat prostate cancer although it is often used in cancer treatment.
In early stages of cancer, hormonal therapy or hormone-refractory prostate cancer is often used.
But if this medicine does not overcome the disease, doctors mainly use chemotherapy to treat advanced prostate cancer.
Chemotherapy is used if the disease no longer can be controlled with regular treatment.
The anti cancer drugs are usually injected directly to the vein.
This drug will decrease the symptoms of cancer and control the cancerous cells.
The shrink of both symptom and cancerous cells can pursuit a good quality of patient's life.
Two main drugs that used for chemotherapy are docetaxel| and mitoxantrone.
These drugs often combine with other various drugs like prednisolone for prostate cancer.
But some of these drugs may decrease the production of white blood cells by the bone marrow.
This condition can make you more vulnerable to infection.
People show different reaction for chemotherapy.
Some people may present few side effects while others experience more.
Some common side effects which usually occur in the first stage of chemotherapy are bruising or bleeding.
Nosebleeds, blood spots or rashes on the skin, and bleeding gum are few conditions where the production of platelets is decreased.
That is why patients always get some blood test before having chemotherapy treatment.
Other common chemotherapy side effects for prostate cancer are anemia, tired, breathless, poor appetite, sore mouth and hair loss.
These side effects will gradually disappear once your treatment is over although they may be hard to deal with at the time.
Chemotherapy drugs surely can cause side effects but these can usually be well controlled with a medicine, which means more drugs to use.
Your doctors will look carefully the possible advantages and disadvantages of chemotherapy treatment for your condition.