Cancer drugs are often a part of cancer treatment at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute. If your treatment plan includes these drugs, a team of specialists is here to help you understand what to expect and provide compassionate support throughout your treatment.
Our cancer physicians have access to traditional cancer drugs as well as innovative new therapies through our clinical trials program. Many experts work together to ensure you receive the right combination of medicines to effectively treat your specific type of cancer.
Before prescribing a drug or combination of drugs, your oncology care team will carefully consider the type and stage of your cancer, your overall health and your wishes.
Chemotherapy uses strong medicines to destroy or control the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer and may be used alone or in combination with other cancer drugs or treatments.
Our physicians may recommend chemotherapy to:
You may receive chemotherapy over a number of weeks through IV therapy in our outpatient care center. IV therapy — also called infusion therapy — sends medicines like chemotherapy directly into a vein through a catheter (thin tube). We do all we can to make your therapy sessions comfortable. The number of sessions you need depends on the type of cancer you have and the type of chemotherapy we give you.
Other ways you can receive chemotherapy include:
The most common side effects of chemotherapy include:
Like chemotherapy, targeted therapy attacks cancer cells. However, unlike chemotherapy, it zeros in on cancer cells, protecting healthy cells and reducing side effects.
Targeted therapy is an example of precision medicine that our specialists tailor specifically for you and your cancer type. It works by using your genes or a tumor’s DNA profile to block the genes or proteins involved in tumor growth. We give this therapy by pill or IV.
Targeted therapy is typically used with other treatments because cancer cells can become resistant to it. Your care team may suggest targeted therapy in combination with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
You must be a good candidate for this therapy to be effective. In some cases, you need to undergo tests to determine if your tumor will respond to the treatment. Some targeted therapy drugs also have standards set by the Food and Drug Administration that limit how we can use them. For example, you may only be a candidate if other treatments don’t work.
The most common side effects of targeted therapies include:
Your immune system normally destroys harmful foreign substances, but it doesn’t always recognize cancer cells as foreign since they are the body’s own mutated cells. Immunotherapy drugs help your immune system attack these dangerous cells.
Some types of immunotherapy are targeted therapies that help your immune system find and attack cancer cells directly. Other types fortify your immune system to help it fight cancer better. Like chemotherapy, we may give these therapies by pill, IV therapy, injection or topical cream.
Specific types of immunotherapy include:
Side effects of immunotherapy may include:
Solid tumors need blood to grow. Angiogenesis inhibitors restrict angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth) to cut off a tumor’s blood supply and disrupt its growth.
Many types of angiogenesis inhibitors are targeted therapies. They may be administered by pill or IV therapy.
Some side effects of angiogenesis inhibitors include:
Our physicians use hormone therapy to treat breast, ovarian, prostate and thyroid cancer. They may also use it to manage your symptoms if you have prostate cancer but cannot undergo surgery or radiation therapy.
Hormone therapy is considered a targeted therapy when used to treat cancer. Some cancerous tumors need hormones to grow. Hormone therapy directly targets these tumors by preventing them from receiving the hormones they need to develop.
General side effects of hormone therapy include:
Like all medicines, cancer drugs may cause side effects. The side effects depend on the drug or combination of drugs you receive and vary from patient to patient. Most of these side effects are temporary and will go away once your treatment ends.
At Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute, we provide Patient Support to help you manage side effects. Your care team is always available to answer questions about your treatment and help you deal with any side effects you experience.
If you need a specialty medication to manage or treat your condition, our pharmacy offers many specialized prescription drugs.
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