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Chemotherapy is a scary word. It is the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells and is a general term for many different kinds of treatment and drugs. There are more than 50 different chemotherapy drugs. In principle, it means not treating by surgery and radiotherapy, but by giving drugs that affect the entire body equally. The drugs go into the bloodstream and travel throughout the body to treat the cancer cells wherever they are. It can be given either as a tablet, or as an injection or infusion directly into a vein. Chemotherapy can cause side effects. The side effects will depend on which drug (or combination of drugs) is used. There are now very good ways of preventing or reducing the side effects of chemotherapy.