what is short course chemotherapy

This short term course in Chemotherapy is designed to prepare registered nurses to be specially trained in administration of chemotherapy and management of patients on chemotherapy. Nurses undergoing this course will be able to function as chemotherapy nurses in hospitals and day care chemotherapy units.

Full Answer

What is a course of treatment for cancer?

You have a course of treatment which includes a number of chemotherapy cycles. Your doctor may also refer to your treatment plan as your chemotherapy regimen. A course of chemotherapy usually takes between 3 to 6 months, although it can be more or less than that.

What is short-course radiotherapy?

Short-course radiotherapy, a standard approach throughout most of northern Europe, is generally defined as 25 Gy in 5 fractions over the course of 1 week without the concurrent administration of chemotherapy.

How long does it take for Chemo to work?

Your doctor may also refer to your treatment plan as your chemotherapy regimen. A course of chemotherapy usually takes between 3 to 6 months, although it can be more or less than that. The treatment will include one or more chemotherapy drugs.

How is the course of chemotherapy?

Quite often, patients and their relatives have a natural question: "How is the course of chemotherapy?". Based on the characteristics of the patient's illness, the course of chemotherapy takes place in a hospital or at home under close supervision of an experienced oncologist who has sufficient experience of such treatment.

Which disease is treated by short course chemotherapy through dots?

DOT helps patients finish TB therapy as quickly as possible, without unnecessary gaps. DOT helps prevent TB from spreading to others. DOT decreases the risk of drug-resistance resulting from erratic or incomplete treatment. DOT decreases the chances of treatment failure and relapse.

What four drugs are included in the standard short course chemotherapy for tuberculosis?

New cases received an initial phase of treatment with 4 drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and either ethambutol or streptomycin) for 2 months, followed by a continuation phase with rifampicin and isoniazid for 4 months (standard regimen among new cases).

Is chemotherapy used to treat TB?

The key to successful elimination of tuberculosis (TB) is treatment of cases with optimum chemotherapy. Poor chemotherapy over time has led to drug-resistant disease. Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis develops by the selective growth of resistant mutants.

Why is TB treated for 6 months?

Taking medication for 6 months is the best way to ensure the TB bacteria are killed. If you stop taking your antibiotics before you complete the course or you skip a dose, the TB infection may become resistant to the antibiotics.

What is the fastest way to cure TB?

The most common medications used to treat TB disease are isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. Be sure to take your medicine exactly as prescribed, for as long as it's prescribed. If you stop, or don't take it as ordered, you can get sick again.

Can chemotherapy cause tuberculosis?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Thoracic Society recognize cancer as a risk factor for developing TB. Our case further suggests that LTBI reactivation can occur in immunosuppressed individuals and those who are receiving systemic chemotherapy with or without radiation.

Is banana good for TB patients?

Foods like banana, cereal porridge, peanut chikki, wheat and ragi are quite beneficial for TB patients.

What are the 3 stages of tuberculosis?

There are 3 stages of TB—exposure, latent, and active disease. A TB skin test or a TB blood test can diagnose the disease. Treatment exactly as recommended is necessary to cure the disease and prevent its spread to other people.

What is the treatment regimen for tuberculosis?

The preferred regimen for treating adults with TB remains a regimen consisting of an intensive phase of 2 months of isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), pyrazinamide (PZA), and ethambutol (EMB) followed by a continuation phase of 4 months of INH and RIF.

What is Dot therapy in tuberculosis?

Directly observed therapy (DOT) is used to ensure the person receives and takes all medications as prescribed and to monitor response to treatment. DOT is widely used to manage tuberculosis (TB) disease. In HIV treatment, DOT is sometimes called directly administered antiretroviral therapy (DAART).

What is pyrazinamide tablet used for?

Descriptions. Pyrazinamide belongs to the family of medicines called anti-infectives. It is used, along with other medicines, to treat tuberculosis (TB). To help clear up your tuberculosis (TB) infection completely, you must keep taking this medicine for the full time of treatment, even if you begin to feel better.

What is the rationale of giving combined chemotherapy for tuberculosis?

Therefore, use of combination chemotherapy with three or more drugs results in cure. However, irregular treatment, inadequate drugs, inadequate drug doses or addition of a single drug to a failing regimen allows selective growth of resistant mutants and acquired drug-resistant TB.

How long does it take to get chemo?

A course of chemotherapy usually takes between 3 to 6 months, although it can be more or less than that.

Why do we have chemotherapy?

You have chemotherapy as a course of treatments over a few months because: it allows the chemotherapy to kill more cancer cells. the rest between treatments allows your body to recover from any side effects. At any one time, some of the cancer cells will be resting. Chemotherapy only attacks cells that are in the process of splitting into two ...

Why do we need chemo?

You have chemotherapy as a course of treatments over a few months because: 1 it allows the chemotherapy to kill more cancer cells 2 the rest between treatments allows your body to recover from any side effects

How do doctors choose their treatment plan?

How doctors choose your treatment. The exact treatment plan (regimen) that your doctor chooses depends on a number of things including: the type of cancer you have. where it is in your body. if it has spread and where to. Your doctor will also take your general health and fitness into account.

What do doctors check before treatment?

Before you have each cycle of treatment your doctor and nurse will check how you are. This includes finding out how you're coping with any side effects. After a few cycles they'll also check how the treatment is working. Some people might need a change in their treatment plan.

Does chemotherapy damage normal cells?

Normal cells usually repair the damage from chemotherapy more effectively than cancer cells. So damage to cancer cells should progressively build up without causing permanent damage to normal cells. Read more about how chemotherapy works.

Can you change your chemotherapy plan?

Some people might need a change in their treatment plan. This change may be a delay before your next treatment or a reduction in the dose of chemotherapy. Sometimes it can be difficult to assess whether chemotherapy is working. For example, if you’re having chemotherapy after surgery to remove cancer. This treatment aims to kill off any cancer ...

How long does it take to cure rectal cancer?

2 The overall treatment duration of this regimen is approximately 1 year. A local failure rate of 20% or higher in this patient population, however, has prompted the search for other more effective and less toxic approaches. 3

Is short course chemo better than chemoradiation?

The study authors concluded that “the superiority of preoperative short-course/chemotherapy over chemoradiation was not demonstrated . Nevertheless, short-course/chemotherapy might be regarded as a viable option, especially in countries with limited access to radiotherapy, because of acute toxicity of neoadjuvant treatment, the convenience and cost of radiotherapy favor short course/chemotherapy.” They further noted that results of ongoing clinical trials evaluating the duration of chemotherapy in short-course radiation therapy (ClinicalTrial.gov Identifiers: NCT01558921 and NCT02533271) may provide insight regarding a more optimal treatment approach.