Chemotherapy is a standard treatment with medications that targets cancer cells. Chemotherapy interferes with the ability of these cells to reproduce and spread throughout the body. It usually involves one or more drugs and is often used in conjunction with other therapies such as surgery, radiation, biological therapy and bone marrow transplants.

A patient's oncologist (a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating tumors) can determine which chemotherapy to use and how to approach the cancer. Chemotherapy may be used to eliminate the cancer, to keep it from spreading or to relieve symptoms and enhance the patient's quality of life if the cancer cannot be controlled or cured.

Although chemotherapy can help arrest or eliminate some cancers, it also often damages normal cells, which may result in side effects. Chemotherapy is often considered a harsh form of treatment with significant side effects, but this is true only for some forms of chemotherapy. Side effects can range from mild to significant and many patients tolerate treatments quite well. In most cases, side effects are temporary and subside when therapy has ended and there is not necessarily a correlation between beneficial effects and the intensity of side effects.

However, in rare cases these drugs may cause permanent damage to organs such as the kidneys and the heart. Despite the side effects, chemotherapy remains one of the most effective means to treat certain cancers.

This guide focuses on general types of chemotherapy and the potential side effects of chemotherapy.