Chemotherapy diffuses cancer-fighting chemicals throughout your body via the bloodstream. If you have metastatic cancer or your cancer has come back after initial treatment, you’ll normally receive chemotherapy at some point in your treatment course. The most commonly used chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer is docetaxel (Taxotere®), which interrupts the cycle of growth and division in cancerous cells.
There are also other chemotherapy drugs used for prostate cancer such as cabazitaxel (Jevtana) and occasionally others. Chemotherapy is usually an outpatient procedure, given in an infusion room through an intravenous line. Your care team will work with you on scheduling your sessions. Before you start treatment, your doctor will talk to you about the potential side effects of chemotherapy and discuss how best to manage them.
Over the course of your chemotherapy treatments, your care team will meet with you frequently to discuss your progress and the effects of the treatment. It’s important that you let them know about any side effects so they can help you deal with them and adjust your chemotherapy doses appropriately.
