Why is it called Red Devil chemo?

This agent has earned its infamous nickname, the red devil, based on its bright red (Kool-Aid red) color, vesicant properties, and side-effect profile, including hair loss, myelosuppression, nausea and vomiting, mouth sores, and rare but serious cardiotoxicity.
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Why is it called 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.
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Which chemo is called the Red Devil?

Can the red devil be defanged? Doxorubicin, an old chemotherapy drug that carries this unusual moniker because of its distinctive hue and fearsome toxicity, remains a key treatment for many cancer patients.
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What is the strongest chemo medicine?

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.
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What type of cancer is Red Devil 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.
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CHEMO BRAIN: BATTLING THE RED DEVIL



Why is doxorubicin called Red Devil?

This agent has earned its infamous nickname, the red devil, based on its bright red (Kool-Aid red) color, vesicant properties, and side-effect profile, including hair loss, myelosuppression, nausea and vomiting, mouth sores, and rare but serious cardiotoxicity.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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How many rounds of chemo can a person have?

During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.
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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”.
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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.
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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).
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What cancers does doxorubicin treat?

Doxorubicin hydrochloride is approved to be used alone or with other drugs to treat:
  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
  • Breast cancer. ...
  • Gastric (stomach) cancer that is metastatic.
  • Hodgkin lymphoma.
  • Neuroblastoma that is metastatic.
  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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Does chemo age your face?

So, it is not surprising that many people feel that they age dramatically during chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, the epidermis loses its ability to hold on to moisture, which leads to fine lines in the skin's surface. In the dermis, the collagen and elastin break down, which weakens the skin's support structure.
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How do you know if chemo is killing you?

Here are some signs that chemotherapy may not be working as well as expected: tumors aren't shrinking. new tumors keep forming. cancer is spreading to new areas.
...
Along the way, the timeline may have to be adjusted due to:
  1. low blood counts.
  2. adverse effects to major organs.
  3. severe side effects.
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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.
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Do tumors grow back after radiation?

Normal cells close to the cancer can also become damaged by radiation, but most recover and go back to working normally. If radiotherapy doesn't kill all of the cancer cells, they will regrow at some point in the future.
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What does radiation fatigue feel like?

Feeling very tired and lacking energy (fatigue) for day-to-day activities is the most common side effect of radiation therapy to any area of the body. During treatment, your body uses a lot of energy dealing with the effects of radiation on normal cells.
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Does chemo get harder with each treatment?

The effects of chemo are cumulative. They get worse with each cycle. My doctors warned me: Each infusion will get harder. Each cycle, expect to feel weaker.
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What should you not do during chemotherapy?

9 things to avoid during chemotherapy treatment
  • Contact with body fluids after treatment. ...
  • Overextending yourself. ...
  • Infections. ...
  • Large meals. ...
  • Raw or undercooked foods. ...
  • Hard, acidic, or spicy foods. ...
  • Frequent or heavy alcohol consumption. ...
  • Smoking.
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Do oncologists lie about prognosis?

Many have fulminated against oncologists who lie to patients about their prognoses, but sometimes cancer doctors lie for or with patients to improve our chances of survival.
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Is AC harder than Taxol?

For me - A/C was so much easier than Taxol. Actually other than loosing hair on head, loosing taste and appetite, A/C wasn't that bad at all. I was a bit tired 2 days after infusion for 2 days but could lay down and rest and feel better - then was basically back to doing everything 'normally'.
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What is a C chemo?

AC is a combination of two chemotherapy drugs used to treat breast cancer. It takes its name from the initials of these drugs: doxorubicin (also known as Adriamycin) cyclophosphamide.
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Can your hair grow back while on Taxol?

Patients undergoing chemotherapy with Taxol (paclitaxel) are able to regrow their hair after their course of treatment is completed. However, with Taxotere, the hair loss can be permanent.
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