Chemotherapy is given with the positive intention to either cure or improve the outcome for people with cancer.
Chemotherapy may also be used to assist other treatments such as surgery or radiotherapy. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy. It may be used:
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- remission - partial or complete removal of cancer from the body.
- cure - some cancers can be completely cured by chemotherapy, either on its own or combined with other treatments.
- control - chemotherapy may control your cancer by shrinking the tumour(s) and restricting its spread.
- palliation - even if it is not possible to completely control a cancer, shrinking the growth may help you feel better and relieve distressing symptoms such as pain.
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Chemotherapy may also be used to assist other treatments such as surgery or radiotherapy. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy. It may be used:
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- before the main treatment to reduce the size of your cancer and make your other treatment(s) more effective.
- as an insurance in case some cancer cells remain after other treatments and which could cause problems later.
- in combination with other treatment ie. radiotherapy.
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