Most patients also receive respiratory therapy after surgery. Patients may be given special exercises to strengthen muscles of the chest and arm that may be weakened by the surgery. In chemotherapy, drugs are used to kill cancer cells. Usually, anticancer drugs are injected into a blood vessel or muscle and they flow to nearly every part of the body. The drugs are generally given in cycles, with each treatment followed by a period of recovery.
Most patients receive chemotherapy as outpatients.
Most chemotherapy drugs attack cells that divide rapidly, as cancer cells do. Other cells that divide rapidly include blood cells, cells in hair roots, and cells that line the digestive tract. This means that chemotherapy can temporarily cause hair loss, nausea and vomiting, bruising easily, and a susceptibility to infections. Radiation Therapy Radiation therapy is the use of high energy rays to damage cancer cells so they stop reproducing or growing. After radiation treatments, patients may become fatigued, and the skin near the treatment area may become discolored, itchy, and sensitive.