Many people have heard that chemotherapy is of little use for cancer, and there is even a statistic that 97% of chemotherapy is useless. This data does sound scary, but is it really true, so why do hospitals insist on chemotherapy?
Before we can discuss the effectiveness of chemotherapy, we need to understand what chemotherapy is. In simple terms, chemotherapy is the use of specific chemical drugs to attack and kill cancer cells. These drugs can help control or destroy cancer by interfering with the growth and division of cancer cells. There are many different types of chemotherapy drugs with different mechanisms of action, ranging from blocking DNA replication to interfering with protein synthesis.
Is this 97% of the data really reliable? In fact, the origin of this figure is very dubious. Within the medical community, the evaluation of chemotherapy is far less pessimistic. In fact, the success rate of chemotherapy depends largely on the type of cancer and the stage of detection. For some cancers, such as testicular cancer and certain types of leukemia, chemotherapy has a very good effect and can significantly improve the survival rate of patients.
Cancers that are detected early are more effective in controlling the disease because the cancer cells have not spread widely. For advanced or hard-to-remove cancers, chemotherapy is often a silver lining for patients, even if it does not completely cure the cancer, but it can prolong the patient's survival and improve the quality of life.
Regarding chemotherapy, there is another topic that has to be talked about - side effects. Side effects of chemotherapy can include hair loss, nausea, fatigue, and leukopenia, among others. These side effects occur because chemotherapy drugs may damage normal cells while killing cancer cells. With advances in medicine, many side effects of chemotherapy can be better managed, such as anti-nausea medications that can effectively control nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
So why do hospitals insist on chemotherapy? The answer is actually quite simple, although chemotherapy sometimes does not work well, in many cases, it is still the most effective way to fight certain types of cancer. When recommending a treatment plan, doctors will consider the type of cancer, the patient's health status, and the possible effects and side effects of the treatment to make the most appropriate choice.
The development of chemotherapy has not stood still, and researchers continue to look for more effective chemotherapy drugs with fewer side effects. For example, the rise of targeted therapies and immunotherapies has brought new hope to cancer treatments, which attack cancer cells more precisely and cause less damage to normal cells, demonstrating a different therapeutic promise from traditional chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy may be the only option for cancer that has metastasized extensively, or because the patient's medical condition does not allow surgery. Doctors do not blindly use chemotherapy, but develop individualized treatment plans based on each patient's specific situation, and this treatment is still in use because it still shows vitality in many cases.
Some patients have indeed had their cancer under control after chemotherapy, and some patients have even achieved long-term survival, and these successful cases have given doctors and patients the confidence to continue using chemotherapy. The controversy over chemotherapy has not completely disappeared, and there are still voices of skepticism about chemotherapy in society, partly due to concerns about the side effects of chemotherapy, and partly due to misunderstandings about the effects of chemotherapy.
In response to these questions, scientists are constantly researching and testing in the hope of finding more evidence to support or improve existing treatments. Each new research result has the potential to change existing treatment strategies as part of medical progress and a sign of accountability to patients.
The complexity and controversy of chemotherapy as a part of cancer treatment require us to be more cautious and rational. In the face of ever-changing medical information and different treatment options, patients and doctors need to work closely together to make the most appropriate decisions based on the latest medical research and an individual's health status. Such a process of cooperation and decision-making, while challenging, is also full of hope, because every step forward can mean victory in the battle against cancer.