What is the Red Devil chemo drug?

Doxorubicin, known as the red devil for its color and toxicity, is widely used for adult and childhood cancers.

What can I expect from the Red Devil chemo?

Common side effects (greater than 30%) include nausea and vomiting, low blood counts (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet count), with the nadir being around 10 days, mouth sores, and alopecia.

What type of cancer is Red Devil chemo used for?

For decades, the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin has been part of the arsenal in treating patients with several forms of cancer, including breast cancer and leukemia.

Why do they call chemo the Red Devil?

The chemotherapy (“chemo”) drug “The Red Devil” is doxorubicin (Adriamycin). It is an intravenous cancer medicine with a clear, bright red color, which is how it got its nickname.

What chemo drug is the strongest?

Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) is one of the most powerful chemotherapy drugs ever invented. It can kill cancer cells at every point in their life cycle, and it's used to treat a wide variety of cancers. Unfortunately, the drug can also damage heart cells, so a patient can't take it indefinitely.

CHEMO BRAIN: BATTLING THE RED DEVIL

Why is doxorubicin called the Red Devil?

Additionally, some people may develop PPE, characterized by skin eruptions on the palms of the hand or soles of the feet, swelling, pain, and erythema. Due to these side effects and its red color, doxorubicin has earned the nickname "red devil" or "red death."

What is aggressive chemo?

Aggressive care includes chemotherapy after multiple earlier rounds of treatment have stopped working and being admitted to an intensive care unit. Such interventions at the end of life “are widely recognized to be harmful,” Chen said.

Which is the most serious side effect of doxorubicin >?

This medicine may cause irreversible heart muscle damage, leading to heart failure. This is more likely to occur if you have other heart problems, have had or currently receiving radiation therapy to your chest, or have received other cancer medicines.

How do you feel after doxorubicin?

What cancers does doxorubicin treat?

What does Red Devil chemo feel like?

In fact, the treatment itself felt like a bit of an anticlimax. I sat in a comfortable armchair and apart from the slight prick when the nurse inserted the needle for the intravenous drip I only felt some discomfort in my chest when she pushed in the “red devil”.

How long does doxorubicin take to work?

Liposomal doxorubicin is a light red liquid that you have through a drip (infusion) into your bloodstream. It usually takes between 30 to 90 minutes each time you have it.

Does doxorubicin cause hair loss?

Your hair may become thin, brittle, or may fall out. This typically begins two to three weeks after treatment starts. This hair loss can be all body hair, including pubic, underarm, legs/arms, eyelashes, and nose hairs.

How does doxorubicin work in the body?

Doxorubicin is a type of chemotherapy drug called an anthracycline. It slows or stops the growth of cancer cells by blocking an enzyme called topo isomerase 2. Cancer cells need this enzyme to divide and grow. You might have doxorubicin in combination with other chemotherapy drugs.

How many days does it take for chemo to leave your body?

It generally takes about 48 to 72 hours for your body to break down and/or get rid of most chemo drugs. But it's important to know that each chemo drug is excreted or passed through the body a bit differently.

How many years does chemo take off your life?

During the 3 decades, the proportion of survivors treated with chemotherapy alone increased from 18% in 1970-1979 to 54% in 1990-1999, and the life expectancy gap in this chemotherapy-alone group decreased from 11.0 years (95% UI, 9.0-13.1 years) to 6.0 years (95% UI, 4.5-7.6 years).

How many cycles of doxorubicin can you have?

Each cycle of treatment lasts 21 days (3 weeks). You usually have up to 6 cycles in total.

Does doxorubicin cause weight gain?

Your doctor may give you a medicine to help prevent this. Call your doctor right away if you have a decrease or change in urine amount, joint pain, stiffness, or swelling, lower back, side, or stomach pain, a rapid weight gain, swelling of the feet or lower legs, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Which is worse Adriamycin or Taxol?

HAMBURG-In previously un-treated women with advanced breast cancer, doxorubicin (Adriamycin) yields a higher response rate and longer progression-free survival than does paclitaxel (Taxol), according to the results of a randomized crossover trial conducted by the EORTC and presented at the Ninth European Cancer ...

How can doxorubicin be fatal to a cell?

Doxorubicin exerts its anti-tumoral activity primarily by intercalation into DNA and inhibiting topoisomerase II (TOP2) in fast-proliferating cancer cells, leading to cancer cell death¹⁰.

What does doxorubicin do to the heart?

Doxorubicin causes both early and late heart damage (also called cardiotoxicity). The early damage occurs immediately after drug administration or within 1 to 2 days. There are minor effects that are picked up on the electrocardiogram (EKG) and in most cases resolve without causing any major problems.

Does doxorubicin make you tired?

Feeling very tired or weak. Patients with cancer who take this drug may be at a greater risk of getting a severe health problem called tumor lysis syndrome (TLS).

Why do oncologists push chemo?

An oncologist may recommend chemotherapy before and/or after another treatment. For example, in a patient with breast cancer, chemotherapy may be used before surgery, to try to shrink the tumor. The same patient may benefit from chemotherapy after surgery to try to destroy remaining cancer cells.

Which is harder on the body chemo or radiation?

Since radiation therapy is focused on one area of your body, you may experience fewer side effects than with chemotherapy. However, it may still affect healthy cells in your body.

What should you not do after chemo?