yesterday i was told by a really good friend that he has cancer. he lost his hair and nails cos of chemotherapy. i really want to support him but to do so i need to understand what is really cancer and what is chemotherapy.
i searched the internet but everything is too complicated english for me. can someone do me the favour and simplified any info about this here?

thank u

I saw the title of this post and i was going to come in here to tell you that you should probabably do your own reasearch to best help you understand chemo... but since the documents you have come across are too technical i will try.

Cancer: Some process in a cell has gone wrong, and now the cell is growing out of control. They no longer preform their function, and only serve to grow larger and create more cancerous cells. For example, your heart is made up of thousands of cells. If one of those cells were to get cancer IT would stop doing heart tasks, and just grow, make more cancerous cells and grow more. Eventually it will grow so large it will inhibit function of the heart, or perhaps spread through the blood stream. Keep in mind this is an EXAMPLE. The cancer your friend is probably somewhere else, and it may be a type of cancer in which doctors can easily remove.

Chemotherapy: Used mostly when doctors have already tried to remove a cancer or it is too dangerous to try and remove the cancer (perhaps if it i deep in the brain. Chemo, to the best of my knowledge, involves 'poisoing' the body, in hopes that it will kill the cancerous cells. As you can see it also causes damage to his normal cells (hair and fingernails fall out), but it is a sort of "last step".

Hope that was simple enough for you. If you have more questions, i can answer them later today, or im sure someone else on the board can.

chemotherapy is poison the body with pills? injections?

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Radiation

It's radiation treatment. In order to kill the cancer cells, the radiation also kills healthy cells which is why you see a loss in hair / nails. Chemo is used when it is too dangerous or when the cancer is to aggressive to be removed via surgery.

Hope that helps
Wyatt

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also use when the cancer is in an advanced stage and a surgery to remove the affected organ won't solve the problem or is not an option ( like on most brain cancer patients )

Radiation is one of the last choice doctors have.

recycle do you know where is your friend's cancer located ? basicly any part of the human body can soffer cancer. Cancer in simple words is a mass produce of body cells uncontrollably. for example. our liver has cells that are change constanly, and that's normal, cancer is basicly this same process but accelerated and uncontrolled. so the liver cell ( in this example ) would be reproduce so many times that the tissue of the liver will start to collapse ( microscopicaly observed ) and that's part of the pain cancer patients soffer. this uncontrol can be transmited to nearby organs if not treated on time; with any cancer patient Psycologist recomend to spend time with them and talk the least possible about cancer or any death related issue, unless the patient start the conversation.

This post has been edited by Culpable04: Dec 9, 2006 - 12:34 PM

Chemotherapy is not radiation guys.... Chemotherapy is a drug. It can be delivered with many different ways such as through the mouth, through the skin, injection into different tissues and injection into the tumor. So basically a shot, pill, or cream. Chemotherapy has alot of adverse effects however is an efficent form of slowing down cancer or removing it.

Radiation is completely different.

the cancer started 2 months ago at stomach. and moved (metastasis?) to 1 kidney splin and liver (sorry for spelling, have no idea how they are written). he is doing chemotherapy the last few weeks as he told me.

i want to know about this cos i want to spend more time with him, but not too much more cos he will feel that i feel sorry for him. and ofcourse i will not talk to him about death cos if i cant get used the idea that he is sick, he must be terrified. but i thinks is usefull to know atleast the basic of what is going on

^^ you have the concept clear. spend time with him, just like you did before you knew he was sick, don't behave diferent, make him feel like nothing have changed.

is chemotherapy painfull for the body? i mean physically do u fell pain?

everybody reacts diferent to treatment but the most common side effects are Fatigue, Discomfort and Pain, Skin Damage or Changes, Hair Loss , Mouth, Gum, and Throat Sores, including loss of appetite, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting a lot more less often experience.

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I'm a current cancer patient, and have yet to undergo chemotherapy. I've just had a couple of surgeries, and radiation. Chemotherapy is my last option. But I will eventually have to go through it.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are completely different. Chemo is the most extreme form.

What I've heard from other patients is that is mostly exhausts you. It's not painful, just uncomfortable.

Any more questions, just ask. I wish your friend the best.