Cancer treatment is designed to kill as many cancer cells as possible. If you miss treatments, the cancer cell killing does not happen. The cancer cells have an opportunity to continue to grow. They may become more resistant to treatment.
Patients should not skip or delay their chemotherapy cycles. If there is any delay or skipping of the dose (especially the oral drugs), the patient should immediately inform the doctor. They should seek advice for a further course of treatment.
After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover. So if your cycle lasts 4 weeks, you may have treatment on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd days and then nothing from the 4th to the 28th day. Then the cycle starts again.
Chemotherapy breaks
It shouldn't make the treatment any less effective. But if it happens too often or if the chemotherapy is affecting your kidneys (for example), you may need to have lower doses of the drugs. It's important not to think of this as a setback.
Every month delayed in cancer treatment can raise risk of death by around 10%
Missing a Treatment
It is best not to skip a chemotherapy treatment. But, sometimes your doctor may change your chemotherapy schedule if you are having certain side effects. If this happens, your doctor or nurse will explain what to do and when to start treatment again.
Cancer treatment is designed to kill as many cancer cells as possible. If you miss treatments, the cancer cell killing does not happen. The cancer cells have an opportunity to continue to grow. They may become more resistant to treatment.
Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.
For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.
Treatment may be stopped if the cancer is in remission and then restarted if it starts growing again. It is also possible for the cancer to go through cycles of growing and shrinking. If cancer continues to grow or spread, a different treatment may be recommended.
The effects of chemo are cumulative. They get worse with each cycle. My doctors warned me: Each infusion will get harder. Each cycle, expect to feel weaker.
Sometimes taking a break is recommended by the cancer care team, and that's OK. It might be due to side effects, to do more tests, because of a holiday or special event, or because of other health problems.
Doctors usually give these drugs with breaks, so you have time to rest and recover before the next treatment. This lets your healthy cells heal. For example, you might get a dose of chemotherapy on the first day and then have 3 weeks of recovery time before repeating the treatment.
A return to normalcy is typical, but it takes a while – usually six months or so. “All who have done chemo do finally get back to normal,” Patricia said. “Treatment for breast cancer can take a whole year, but six months after it ends, life comes back – incisions heal, hair grows back, chemo brain fog lifts.”
In summary, Weekly paclitaxel treatment demonstrates better PFS and fewer chemotherapy-induced hematological and non-hematological toxicities compared to the three-week paclitaxel regimen.
One week post-chemo! "They" say that's one of the toughest weeks. The one right after chemo, especially your first round. It's a week of figuring out how your body will respond after the infusions, and it's different for every person.
Chemotherapy. You may feel most worn out for a few days after each chemo treatment. Your fatigue may get worse with each treatment. For some people, fatigue is worst about halfway through the full course of chemo.
Water, water, water: we know it can be difficult, but please drink plenty of water before, during and after chemo treatment. Drinking lots of water will help to flush the chemo through your system, and can also help to keep your bladder from becoming irritated.
If the disease has stabilized or shrunk, more of chemotherapy can be performed, provided that responses are maintained and toxicities are within tolerable levels. Generally, at least 2-3 treatment cycles are required to measure a response.
Including a rest period is important because this allows your body to generate new, healthy cells. A single course of chemotherapy typically involves four to eight cycles. Your oncologist, or cancer physician, will determine the length of your cycles based on your individual needs and goals for treatment.
You may get treatments daily, weekly, or monthly, but they're usually given in on-and-off cycles. This means, for example, that you may get chemo the first 2 weeks and then have a week off, making it a cycle that will start over every 3 weeks. The time off lets your body build healthy new cells and regain its strength.
If you were treated with certain types of chemotherapy, you can also have many of the same problems. Some problems go away after treatment. Others last a long time, while some may never go away. Some problems may develop months or years after your treatment has ended.
Your course of chemotherapy
You usually have a course of several cycles of treatment over a few months. Each cycle of TC takes 21 days (3 weeks). On the first day of each cycle, you will have docetaxel and cyclophosphamide. You will then have no chemotherapy for the next 20 days.