“Are steroids given as a part of cancer treatment?”
What are the kinds of medication is administered to cancer patients? Are they given steroids as a part of their treatment?
3 Answers
Yes
Depends on the cancer and the chemo. Steroids are:
-Therapeutic specific for a few cancers
-Non-specific to reduce swelling
-Rarely to reduce pain except in short use
-Prevent side effects of chemo
-Chronic to avoid deficiency re: prostate
-Acute or a few days to prevent chemo malaise nausea/vomiting
-Acute to control allergic reaction
Topical rinses for some types of target chemo mouth sores. Generally, less oral or IV is better. Don't self medicate or reduce without doctor's guidelines. Reasons for less ideally minimum effective:
-Avoid diabetes, new or worse
-Hypertension
-Avoid infection worse
-Atrophy weakness of muscles
-Gastritis ulcers
Often, if using a lot of steroids, one needs complementary ulcer and blood pressure, even infection protection. Ask about each.
-Therapeutic specific for a few cancers
-Non-specific to reduce swelling
-Rarely to reduce pain except in short use
-Prevent side effects of chemo
-Chronic to avoid deficiency re: prostate
-Acute or a few days to prevent chemo malaise nausea/vomiting
-Acute to control allergic reaction
Topical rinses for some types of target chemo mouth sores. Generally, less oral or IV is better. Don't self medicate or reduce without doctor's guidelines. Reasons for less ideally minimum effective:
-Avoid diabetes, new or worse
-Hypertension
-Avoid infection worse
-Atrophy weakness of muscles
-Gastritis ulcers
Often, if using a lot of steroids, one needs complementary ulcer and blood pressure, even infection protection. Ask about each.
Steroids are often used in conjunction with anti -cancer medications. Sometimes they are necessary, for example, men having prostate cancer are often put on medications that reduce testosterone by shutting down the adrenal glands (above the kidneys). The problem is that the adrenal glands are also responsible for producing corticosteroids (steroids). In this situation, patients must take steroids to avoid an ADRENAL CRISIS. Interestingly, steroids alone have anti-cancer properties.
