Most types of blood cancer can first be treated with chemotherapy, the aim of which is to simply destroy the cancer cells. Other forms of treatment can be used as well, such as radiation or antibody therapies, or a blood stem cell transplant.
With chemotherapy, the patient is given cytostatic drugs to inhibit cell division and destroy the cancer cells. The treatment is performed over several cycles, with drugs administered on one or more days followed by a break for the body to recover before the next cycle begins. The drugs can be given in the form of tablets, an injection, or an infusion.
