Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Patients and families can rely on the chemotherapy experts at the Adult Primary Care, Hematology & Oncology medical group practice at Central Vermont Medical Center to provide advanced, compassionate cancer treatment. Our outpatient infusion suite is designed with your comfort in mind and features both private or semi-private treatment areas.

Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells by impeding their growth and reproduction. Chemotherapy drugs circulate in the blood to target areas of the body to which cancer may have spread. There are more than 100 types of chemotherapy drugs, and more than half of patients with cancer receive chemotherapy.

How Do Patients Receive Chemotherapy?

Depending on the type of cancer and your unique needs, your doctor will recommend a chemotherapy drug or combination of drugs to be given by:

1. Mouth:  These drugs can be absorbed under the tongue and are not destroyed by stomach acid. You may receive the medication as pills, tablets, capsules, or a liquid.
2. Intravenously (IV): This is the most common chemotherapy technique. Medication will be infused through an IV into a vein in your forearm or hand. Infusions may last 30 minutes to several hours.
3. Injection: Some drugs can be given through an injection into your skin or muscle.
4. Infusion ports.  If you need chemotherapy for several days or if your veins are too small for an IV, we may recommend a port to deliver the drug continuously. A port is the size of a quarter and is made of plastic or metal. We can surgically place it just under the skin and connect it to a catheter, or thin flexible tube, that the surgeon inserts into a vein. This technique minimizes the discomfort of repeated blood draws and infusions.

New medications are available to treat many of the side effects once associated with chemotherapy, allowing people to work, travel, and engage in many of their normal activities while receiving treatment. For more information about chemotherapy, visit the American Cancer Society website.

To learn more, call us at 802-225-5400