Chemotherapy works by destroying or damaging cancer cells. For oropharyngeal cancers, it is usually given into a vein through a needle with a cannula (tube) attached.
This is used when the cancer is incurable. The cancer may be too large or has spread too much to be removed by surgery. Palliative chemotherapy helps to slow the growth of cancer and reduce symptoms. It is important to remember that palliative chemotherapy is not as intense as other types and is much less likely to have significant side effects.
Before you start treatment, your medical oncologist will choose one or more chemotherapy medication that will be best to treat the type of cancer you have.
The particular chemotherapy medications used will depend on:
whether the treatment is curative or palliative
when it is used
​your medical history.
The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the medication used and the the dose. The most common medications are cisplatin, carboplatin and 5-Fluoruracil (5-FU). Each person responds to chemotherapy differently. Some people may experience a few side effects while others may not experience any at all. The following are common side effects of chemotherapy:
a feeling of wanting to vomit (nausea) or vomiting
more side effects of radiation, if you have chemotherapy at the same time as radiation
loss of feeling in the fingers and toes
kidney damage (caused by some medications)
hearing loss/thinning
ringing in the ears
rash
higher risk of infection (if the chemotherapy reduces the number of white cells in the blood).
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