Running Head: RESEARCH ASSESSMENT #6

Research Assessment #6
Chemotherapy for childhood leukemia
Nisha Anbu
Independence High School

Abstract:

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This article,Chemotherapy for childhood leukemia by: The American Cancer Society
discusses the basic mechanisms of chemotherapy as well as discusses the combination of drugs
that are administered during chemotherapy. Additionally, this article discusses the possible side
effects one may encounter when being treated or under the treatment of chemotherapy. This
article also gives specific information on why some side effects might occur.

What I learned
From this article I learned that chemotherapy is the primary treatment method for
most all leukemias. I learned that along with anticancer drugs which can be administered through

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the vein, muscle, orally as a pill or into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or the fluid that surrounds
the brain and spinal cord, this CSF drug can enter and reach almost all parts of the body, which
makes this treatment were beneficial when treating leukemias because this is a blood cancer and
it affects all parts of the body. I learned that some of the drugs used for this procedure include
Methotrexate, Mitoxantrone, Teniposide, and many more. Some patients will be administered
multiple of these drugs at a time at different times during their treatment process. Although the
use of chemotherapy is beneficial in some ways, there are many side effects that are associated
with it. Some of these side effects are reliant on the type of drug that was administered and the
strength of that drug that was given. Some common side effects include hair loss, mouth sores,
diarrheas, bruising, fatigue, and many others. Chemo drugs attack cells that divide quickly,
which is the reason it is so effective against cancer cells. These cells of the hair follicles, lining
of the mouth and intestines and the bone marrow, and this can lead to side effects.
Relevance
Learning about the effects and how chemotherapy works is relevant to me and my
topic of study because through my research interviews I learned that leukemia is often the most
prominent cancer that children with pediatric cancer deal with. Furthermore, according to this
article since chemotherapy is the number one way to treat childhood leukemia it is relevant for
me to know of what drugs are used and the effects of this treatment.

Relation to previous knowledge

In my past research assessments I have research primarily about the different
treatment methods for pediatric cancer. After having my last few research interviews I learnt that
the most prominent cancers that these doctors treat and see is leukemia, so then I began to

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become curious on how leukemia specifically is treated. Also, in my past research assessment I
have researched revelations in radiation therapy which chemotherapy is linked to.
Surprising information
Something I found after reading this article is that I didn't realize the number of
anticancer drugs that are used to treat leukemia. Before reading this article I just thought that
chemotherapy consisted of just radiation, I didn't realize that that many drugs was needed in
order to perform chemotherapy.
Further questions
After reading this article I have further questions on the pros and cons of
chemotherapy, and I also want to learn more about how exactly chemotherapy works. I want to
learn more about if there are any other better options to treat leukemia rather than chemotherapy
because although chemotherapy is beneficial in some ways it is still detrimental because it not
only kills the cancer cells but it also harms the healthy cells. I want to learn more about if there
are any current researches going on to see if we can improve this technology in the future.

References:
Chemotherapy for childhood leukemia. (2015, April 17). Retrieved November 27, 2015

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<://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemiainchildren/detailedguide/childhoodleukemia- treating-chemotherapy >