Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy and Prostate Cancer

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of powerful and toxic drugs to attack cancer cells and is usually administered by a medical oncologist. The drugs circulate throughout the body in the bloodstream and may kill any rapidly growing cells, including healthy ones. Chemotherapy drugs are carefully controlled in both dosage and frequency so that cancer cells are destroyed while minimizing the risk to healthy cells.
The drugs used for chemotherapy come in many different forms. While some are given directly into a vein or a muscle, others may be taken by mouth. Some of the drugs must be given in a clinic; others can be administered while the patient is at home.
There are many different chemotherapy drugs, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Often the drugs are used in combination. Sometimes hospitalization may be needed for certain types of chemotherapy that require special monitoring of both the treatment and its possible side effects.
Chemotherapy is generally reserved for patients with advanced stage prostate cancer (Stage M+) that no longer responds to hormonal therapy. However, it is being studied in earlier stages of prostate cancer.
Advantages: Chemotherapy provides an additional means of relieving the symptoms of advanced prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormonal therapy. It can reduce pain and may slow tumor growth.
Disadvantages: Because the drugs circulate throughout the whole body, they can affect both healthy and cancerous cells. This can lead to many side effects. The specific side effects will depend upon which drugs and combinations are used.
For the majority of chemotherapy drugs, side effects may include hair loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lowered blood counts, reduced ability of the blood to clot, and an increased risk of infection. Some of these side effects occur only temporarily or are more noticeable when treatment is first started. Most of the side effects disappear when the drugs are stopped. For instance, hair will grow back once chemotherapy is stopped.
Bisphosphonates
Bisphosphonates are injectable drugs used in treating bone complications due to prostate cancer that has spread to the bones. In general, there are 2 types of metastatic bone lesions; osteoblastic (bone producing) and osteolytic (bone breakdown). Bisphosphonates may be helpful in treating one type of such lesions. Generally, a patient who suffers from metastatic prostate cancer and has already been treated with hormonal therapy that failed may be treated with bisphosphonates.