If you are a diagnosed with a brain tumour, one of the treatments your medical team may offer is chemotherapy. This is the use of drugs to destroy tumour cells by disturbing their growth. Chemotherapy can be used on its own as a treatment, or alongside radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy may also be used before surgery or radiotherapy to shrink the tumour or after surgery or radiotherapy, to prevent the tumour from returning.
Chemotherapy is the use of cytotoxic (anti-cancer) drugs that affect the growth of tumour cells by interfering with the way they divide and create copies of themselves.
Chemotherapy acts on all dividing cells, including healthy cells, but healthy cells are able to repair themselves better than tumour cells, so fewer of them die after treatment.
Your health team will carefully consider the best course of treatment for you. This will depend on the type of tumour you have and whether it has spread, your general health and fitness, and your age.
Chemotherapy may be given:
Chemotherapy will be given to you in a series of treatments separated by rest periods. One treatment session and rest period is called a 'cycle' and a number of cycles make up the 'course' of treatment. There are various ways that chemotherapy can be given.
Some chemotherapy drugs can be taken in tablet or capsule form like any other tablet. They are absorbed and carried around your body in the bloodstream to reach the tumour cells. You will be able to take the tablets at home, but will need to take care to touch them as little as possible and should wash your hands straight afterwards. There can be an after-taste to these drugs - chewing flavoured gum afterwards can help to disguise this taste.
Chemotherapy drugs can be injected into a vein ('intravenously') or into the spinal fluid ('intrathecally'). They can also be given via a drip to the veins over a time period of half an hour to a few hours. As with tablets, the drugs are absorbed and carried around your body in the bloodstream to reach the tumour cells.
Our FREE Brain Tumour Information Pack has been designed to help you through this difficult time, to guide you through the healthcare system, answer your questions, and reassure you that you're not alone so that you feel confident when discussing treatment and care options with your medical team.