chemotherapy

Kate Murphy felt frustrated by a lack of advice from doctors on how to use medical marijuana to mitigate side effects from her cancer treatment.

Cancer Patients Get Little Guidance From Doctors On Using Medical Marijuana

6:00am January 21, 2018

by Karen Weintraub

Side effects from cancer treatment lead many patients to ask their physicians about trying marijuana for relief. Even when the answer is yes, the details on what to do next can be sparse.

Mammography has helped increase the early detection of breast tumors. Now, researchers say, the goal is to discern which of those tumors need aggressive treatment, including chemotherapy or radiation after surgery.

Tumor Test Helps Identify Which Breast Cancers Don't Require Extra Treatment

6:47pm June 29, 2017

Researchers say the test, which measures gene activity, can help avoid "overtreating" tumors that are not life-threatening. It might allow some patients to avoid radiation and chemotherapy.

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore opened a six-bed urgent care center next to its infusion center a couple of years ago. Of the patients who land there, about 80 percent are discharged home afterward, rather than needing admission to the hospital.

Urgent Care Services For Cancer Patients Offer A Gentler ER Alternative

12:15pm May 03, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

Some hospitals and oncology practices are setting up urgent care sites tailored to the needs of cancer patients, to help keep them out of the emergency room when complications or side effects arise.

A nurse turned patient writes about her experiences after being prescribed the wrong dosage of a medication.

Chemo Scrambled My Brain

5:00am April 23, 2017

by Meredith Rizzo

After an incorrect dose of a chemotherapy drug for Crohn's disease caused Anne Webster's bone marrow to shut down, she decided that, if she survived, she'd write about her experience.

Sometimes fast-acting chemotherapy can help slow an aggressive cancer — and give the slower-acting immunotherapies a chance to work.

Old-Style Chemo Is Still A Mainstay In The Age Of Targeted Cancer Therapy

10:37am March 13, 2017

by Richard Harris

Scientists hunting cures for cancer hope to find therapies with fewer side effects. But there's also new evidence that old-style chemotherapy sometimes helps gentler treatments work better.

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Sixty-three percent of women who used the Paxman cooling device said they used wigs or head wraps to cover up hair loss, compared to 100 percent of women who didn't try cooling.

Cooling Cap May Limit Chemo Hair Loss In Women With Breast Cancer

4:55pm February 14, 2017

by Patti Neighmond

Cooling caps haven't been studied much in the U.S., and only one is approved by the FDA. Studies of two different caps show they can reduce hair loss by half in many women undergoing chemo.

Ovarian tissue containing hundreds of small resting eggs is prepared to be transplanted back after cancer treatment.

Freezing Ovaries Before Cancer Treatment May Preserve Fertility

2:29pm October 07, 2015

by Rob Stein

One-third of women who froze ovarian tissue before undergoing cancer treatment and later had it transplanted back ended up having babies, according to a study of women in Denmark.

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For patients who fell into Oncotype DX's low-risk category, 99 percent didn't develop metastatic breast cancer five years after surgery, even if they didn't have chemotherapy.

Breast Cancer Gene Test Helps Predict Who Can Skip Chemo

4:35pm September 28, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A large study confirms that a test doctors have been using for a decade works well for low-risk patients. More work is needed to draw conclusions about chemotherapy for women with riskier tumors.

For best quality of life, many cancer patients who can't be cured might do best to forgo chemo and focus instead on pain relief and easing sleep and mood problems, a survey of caregivers suggests.

What If Chemo Doesn't Help You Live Longer Or Better?

11:10am July 24, 2015

by Richard Harris

Terminal cancer patients sometimes get chemotherapy in the belief that it will ease their symptoms. But a study finds that many who get the treatment near death actually have a poorer quality of life.

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Anne Koller closes her eyes as an oncology nurse attaches a line for chemotherapy to a port in her chest. Koller typically spends three to six hours getting each treatment.

Big Bills A Hidden Side Effect Of Cancer Treatment

2:13pm April 15, 2015

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Cancer treatment is increasingly expensive, even for patients who have insurance. Some doctors advocate discussing the costs of cancer treatment as they would hair loss, pain or other side effects.

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