Chemotherapy is one of the most important parts of cancer treatment. 

Each type of chemotherapy stops cell growth or kills cells in a different way. Healthy cells may also be damaged. Chemotherapy can be given orally (by mouth), or into a vein, muscle or spinal fluid. 

Chemotherapy and how it works 

Chemotherapy is a general term for treatments that use chemical agents (drugs) to kill cancer cells. These are also called cytotoxic (cell-destroying) drugs. The different types of drugs may be used alone or in combination. Chemotherapy:

• can be used in combination with surgery and radiation to treat cancer. 
• drugs act in different ways and are divided into groups, classes or families, depending on how they destroy cancer cells.
• doctors will choose the most effective drugs which cause the least harm to your child. 

Chemotherapy works by targeting cancer cells that grow and divide at a faster rate than normal healthy cells. 

The effect of chemotherapy on healthy cells is an unwanted side effect of chemotherapy.  

• each chemotherapy drug works in a different way to prevent cancer cells from growing
• each drug attacks the cancer cell in a different way
• this helps avoid ‘drug resistance’ which means the chemotherapy treatment becomes less effective.