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How long is a course of chemotherapy?

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Usually a course of chemotherapy is given in 'cycles'. A cycle is a spell of treatment followed by a rest from treatment. For example, you may have a dose of your drug(s) on one day, or several doses over a few days. You may then have a rest from treatment for 3-4 weeks. This allows your body to recover from any side-effects, and gives a chance for damaged normal cells to recover before the next spell of treatment. Treatment cycles are commonly every 3-4 weeks, but vary depending on the cancer being treated and the drugs used.

The length of a full course of treatment is often about six months. So this may consist of about six cycles of treatment over the six months. But a full course of treatment can vary and may be shorter or longer than six months, and consist of fewer or more cycles. It depends on the type of drugs used and the type of cancer.

You may have tests such as scans or x-rays at various times to see how well treatment is working. These can help to guide a doctor as to how long to continue treatment, or even to change the drugs used if the treatment does not seem to be working. You will also have regular blood tests to check on your blood count (see below) and may also have blood tests to check that your liver and kidneys continue to work well and are not being affected by the drugs.

Where is chemotherapy given?

Most people have chemotherapy treatment as an outpatient. You may have to spend a few hours at hospital for each dose of treatment. Some treatment cycles require a day or so in hospital as an inpatient.

Some people have some of their chemotherapy treatment at home. They have a catheter inserted into a vein as described above, and wear a small portable device to gently pump a drug solution into the catheter over a set period of time.