Cancer makes a person race against the clock for their life. This life threatening disease requires serious medical treatment to control. One of the first questions people diagnosed cancer always want answered is the options for treatment. Two common treatments for most types of cancer are chemotherapy and radiation. Even though there are distinct differences in administration and side effects of these treatments, chemotherapy and radiation are similar in purpose, fighting cancer.
The first commonly known type of treatment is chemotherapy. This treatment attacks enzymes that duplicate cancer cells by the distribution of various medicines and chemicals administered (Kane 1107). According to Laurie Adams EdD, “the emergence of chemotherapy
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A schedule for treatment distribution is determined by the type of cancer a patient has (“Chemotherapy and You” 2). The use of the treatment could take weeks to possibly years until the cancer is cured or until the spreading of the cells has stopped. If a patient receives cancer through an IV, one treatment could last anywhere from one to five hours. Researchers have been working on reducing chemotherapy treatment time through IV. According to a study by Lamm et al. on preparation for chemotherapy treatments, “472 preparations had a complete time–motion data analysis log and thus were included in the study. The mean turnaround time for all chemotherapy preparations decreased from 60 to 44 minutes” (1141). The decrease in time is more sufficient to the patient’s life and the treatment’s overall …show more content…
Women experience many problems with fertility. Ovaries can be severely damage, which can cause difficulty to become pregnant (“Chemotherapy and You” 44). Even though the chances of pregnancy are likely to decrease, it is still important to practice safe sex because the risk does not completely eliminate the possibility. “Chemotherapy may hurt the fetus, especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy” (“Chemotherapy and You” 45). Also, menopause may come at an earlier time for women (“Chemotherapy and You” 44). As for men, they may be unable to get an erection or be able to climax during sex (“Chemotherapy and You” 44). These life-long effects can change a patient’s life