• Question: what does kemo do to cancer cells?

    Asked by marrowhead123 to Charlotte, Dhvanil, Frank, Jim, Leila on 11 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Jim O Doherty

      Jim O Doherty answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      Cancer cells divide very quickly. Chemotherapy uses drugs that kill cells that divide quickly. Unfortunately this also means that chemotherapy kills normal cells that don’t have cancer and divide rapidly too, which is why most chemo patients lose their hair.

    • Photo: Leila Nichol

      Leila Nichol answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      Another good answer from Jim there. Chemo can also be used in conjunction with radiotherapy to make the target tumour more sensitive to the effects of radiotherapy.

    • Photo: Charlotte Kemp

      Charlotte Kemp answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to all the cells in the body, particularly cancerous ones. As well as being used with radiotherapy, they can be injected into the body, where they collect in the place where the cancer is and then laser light can be used to activate them to kill the cells in that area.

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