The goals of the treatment are to alleviate symptoms and to obtain complete and long-term remission. One is said to be in complete remission if there is no trace of disease, and in partial remission if there is some improvement but some leukemic blast cells remain. When there is no evidence of AML, additional therapy may be given to prevent relapse . Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill the cancerous cells. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells by stopping them from dividing and reproducing.
Some chemotherapy drugs are now even available in convenient oral forms.
Chemotherapy can be given in the hospital or in an outpatient setting. Treatments that require several days to administer may require the patient to stay in the hospital. However, most patients can receive their chemotherapy treatment in an outpatient setting. Nurses specializing in the treatment of cancer assist doctors in administering chemotherapy and monitor side effects. To learn more about your health care team click here .