Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells. However, this aggressive treatment has a lot of risks, side effects and scary outcomes that sometimes overshadow the goodness that it can do. This sparks a valid question: Does chemotherapy kill cancer cells effectively, or does it cause more harm than the good it is supposed to be doing?
According to Lakishia Harris-Fleming, a breast cancer survivor and former chemotherapy patient, “The side effects were so aggressive to the point where I didn’t want to go to treatment anymore.”
Sometimes cancer patients have even harsher side effects where they have to be admitted and observed in hospitals. If chemo is helping patients, why does the cancer come back? Why is it getting patients sicker? Now as much as it seems that I don’t like chemotherapy, I have had the good end of the stick. I have two aunts whom have had cancer and they both went into remission, but a lot of families didn’t have that luxury. Although chemo can kill cancer, it also can cause cancer as well.
“Chemotherapy can increase the risk of the development of certain cancers including: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and Acute myelogenous leukemia.” said the American Cancer Society.
In conclusion, chemotherapy is a treatment that plays a dual role in killing cancer cells and causing cancer cells. While chemo can really do some good, it also can harm a patient significantly and insignificantly. So does chemotherapy kill or does it cause?
