# What is chemotherapy? > Source: World Aid Network — https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/chemotherapy > Last reviewed: 2026-08-22 ## In short Chemotherapy uses medicines to kill cancer cells or stop them growing. It travels in the bloodstream, so it can reach cancer that has spread. It is usually given in cycles, as a drip or as tablets. World Aid Network funds chemotherapy overseas for patients who cannot pay. This page is information, not a diagnosis. Medicines that kill cancer cells, given in cycles. Donate to fund a session overseas for a patient who cannot pay. Please donate at https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses medicines to kill cancer cells. It is usually given in cycles, as a drip or as tablets. This page is information, not a diagnosis and not NHS care. Named checkout: https://worldaidnetwork.org/appeal/cancer-emergency. Cancer hub: https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer. Radiotherapy: https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/radiotherapy. Cancer surgery: https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/surgery. ## At a glance - £50: Typical partner cost of one chemotherapy session we can fund - Cycles: Treatment, then rest days, then another session — so the body can recover - Whole body: Drugs travel in the bloodstream, unlike surgery or radiotherapy - 3 countries: Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia — our charitable Objects ## What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy uses medicines to kill cancer cells or stop them dividing. Cancer cells grow faster than most healthy cells, so the drugs target that rapid growth. They travel in the bloodstream and can reach cancer that has spread. This page is information, not a diagnosis. World Aid Network does not provide NHS care. The medicines are sometimes called cytotoxic drugs. Unlike surgery or radiotherapy, which treat one area, chemotherapy works throughout the body. That is why it is used when cancer has spread, or after surgery to mop up cells left behind. Type-specific plans — for example breast, leukaemia or bowel regimens — live on those cancer guides. This page owns the general question: what chemotherapy is, how it is given, and why a session can be unaffordable overseas. ## How does chemotherapy work? The drugs damage cells that are dividing quickly. That includes cancer, which is why they can shrink a tumour. Some healthy cells also divide quickly — in hair follicles, the gut lining and bone marrow — which is why side effects happen. Your own specialist chooses the drugs. This is not a diagnosis and not NHS care from us. Different drugs hit cells at different points in the division cycle. Combinations are common so more cells are caught. Supportive medicines help with nausea and infection risk. Ask the treating team to explain the names on the consent form in plain English. World Aid Network does not choose the protocol. A locally licensed oncologist in a registered hospital does. We fund the bill a family cannot meet in Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia. ## How is chemotherapy given? Most often as a liquid drip into a vein in hospital. Some types are tablets taken at home. Treatment is usually given in cycles: a session, then days or weeks of rest so the body can recover, then another session. A course may last a few months. See a specialist for personal advice. This is not a diagnosis. A drip session can take hours. Tablets still need blood tests and a plan for missed doses and infection. Either way, the rest days are part of treatment, not a pause you skip. Please do not post chemotherapy drugs from Britain. The wrong drug, the wrong dose or a delayed parcel does not help. Donate here so a partner hospital can buy what the oncologist has already prescribed. - Intravenous drip — Liquid into a vein in hospital — the most common method - Tablets or capsules — Taken at home on a set schedule, with blood-test checks - A cycle — Treatment days, then rest days so healthy cells can recover - A course — Several cycles over weeks or months, set by the specialist - With other treatments — Before surgery to shrink a tumour, or after surgery to reduce return ## Why is chemotherapy given in cycles? A cycle is a burst of treatment followed by a rest. Cancer cells are hit while they divide. Healthy cells — hair, gut, bone marrow — get time to recover before the next dose. Skipping rest days is not a way to finish faster. The schedule is part of safety. Ask your team before changing anything. This is not a diagnosis. Blood tests before a cycle check that bone marrow has recovered. If counts are low, a session may be delayed. That delay is clinical, not a failure. Completing the planned course matters more than squeezing sessions together. For blood cancers especially, stopping mid-course because a family cannot pay is more dangerous than a delayed start. Remaining cells can become harder to treat. That is why a monthly gift to the Cancer Emergency Appeal matches a real chemotherapy timetable. ## What are the side effects of chemotherapy? Common effects include tiredness, nausea, hair thinning or loss, and a higher risk of infection because bone marrow is affected. They are usually temporary and can be managed with supportive medicines. Not everyone gets the same effects. Ask your cancer team what to expect from your drugs. World Aid Network is not a UK helpline. Infection risk is why a fever during chemotherapy is urgent — NHS 111 or a specialist unit, not this website. Mouth ulcers, diarrhoea and taste changes are also common. Supportive care is part of the protocol, not an optional extra. In the countries we fund, supportive medicines and blood tests cost money too. A gift here can cover a session and the care that makes it safe. We do not invent a named patient’s side-effect list. ## Does chemotherapy always cause hair loss? No. Hair loss depends on the specific drugs. Some cause it, some cause thinning, some do not. Where it happens it is usually temporary, with hair growing back after the course. Cold caps are used in some UK units; they are not something we supply overseas. Ask your team about your regimen. This is not a diagnosis. Scalp cooling does not work for every drug or every person. Body hair and eyebrows can be affected too. Wigs and headwear are a personal choice. Macmillan and NHS pages cover UK practical help; we are not that service. If you are donating because someone you love lost their hair in treatment, you can mark a gift in memory. Write to info@worldaidnetwork.org. The gift still funds a hospital bill overseas, not a UK wig service. ## When is chemotherapy used with surgery or radiotherapy? It may be given before surgery to shrink a tumour, or after surgery and radiotherapy to reduce the chance of cancer returning. It is also used on its own when cancer has spread. The combination depends on type and stage. Breast, bowel and cervical guides explain those pathways. This page is the general chemotherapy explainer, not a treatment plan. Chemoradiotherapy means chemotherapy and radiotherapy together, used for some cervical and other cancers. That detail belongs on the type page. Radiotherapy itself is explained on the radiotherapy guide. World Aid Network funds what a partner hospital can actually deliver. We do not promise a UK private protocol or a named branded drug from a British pharmacy. ## How is this different from the Cancer Emergency Appeal? This page owns what chemotherapy is — how it works, cycles, drips, tablets and side effects — with a donate form. The Cancer Emergency Appeal is the named checkout for all types of cancer treatment, not chemotherapy alone. Both gifts fund partner hospital bills. Please read the page that matches your question. Neither is NHS care. Stay here if you wanted the explainer. Use the Cancer Emergency Appeal if you already decided to give and want the named appeal URL. Trustees send money to the most urgent bill a partner can treat. Leukaemia, lymphoma and childhood cancer pages explain why continuity of a course matters. Those URLs own the disease. This URL owns the treatment method. ## Why is chemotherapy harder to get overseas? In the UK, the NHS gives chemotherapy without a bill at the door. In Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia a family often pays out of pocket for the drugs, the blood tests and the supportive care. One session can be unaffordable. World Aid Network funds that bill through locally licensed oncologists. We do not run clinics or fly teams from Britain. The World Health Organization reports that access to cancer medicines is far from equal. We do not invent caseloads. We pay for a protocol a partner hospital can already deliver for a patient who cannot pay. Please do not send leftover tablets from a UK course. Donate on this page instead. Card gifts are processed immediately; treatment follows the hospital list. ## How can I donate to fund chemotherapy? Please give on this page by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The gift is marked for the Cancer Emergency Appeal, which funds chemotherapy and every other type a partner hospital can treat. £50 typically funds one session. Gift Aid starts when Charity Commission registration is granted — application 5290505. Use the form beside this guide, or open the donate page and choose cancer treatment. If you are collecting as a group, bring the total here. For a gift in memory of someone, write to info@worldaidnetwork.org. Until registration is granted, please do not assume a 25% Gift Aid top-up. We will contact donors when Gift Aid becomes claimable. Card donations are open now. ## What will my donation to chemotherapy provide? Your donation pays for diagnosis and treatment a poor patient cannot afford. Typical partner costs include £50 for one chemotherapy session and £100 for a staging scan. Trustees send the Cancer Emergency Appeal to the most urgent bill — chemotherapy and every other type a partner hospital can treat. Please give what you can. Clinicians decide the medical plan. We fund the invoice. What a patient receives depends on diagnosis, stage and what that hospital can deliver. The table is a guide, not a promise that every gift buys an identical item. - £10 — essential cancer medicines for one patient for one week - £25 — diagnostic blood tests or a screening examination - £50 — one chemotherapy session - £100 — a diagnostic scan to confirm and stage cancer - £250 — a course of chemotherapy drugs where partners quote this cost - £500 — cancer surgery for one patient at a partner hospital ## Can I give monthly for a chemotherapy course? Yes. A monthly gift to the Cancer Emergency Appeal matches a chemotherapy course, which does not end after one appointment. Please set up a regular amount on this page. You can also give once. To mark a gift in memory of someone who had chemotherapy, write to info@worldaidnetwork.org. You can change a monthly gift later. Please do not wait for the next awareness month. The next cycle is booked in between campaigns too. A small monthly amount keeps a course from stopping because the money ran out. ## What will a donation provide? - £10: Essential cancer medicines for one patient for one week - £25: Diagnostic blood tests or a screening examination - £50: One chemotherapy session for a patient who cannot pay - £100: A diagnostic scan to confirm and stage cancer - £250: A course of chemotherapy drugs where partners quote this cost - £500: Cancer surgery for one patient at a partner hospital ## How to donate to fund chemotherapy overseas Donate so World Aid Network can pay for a chemotherapy session — and other cancer treatment — for a patient who cannot pay in Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia. - Read this guide: Understand cycles, drips and side effects. This is information, not a diagnosis. See a GP or specialist for personal advice. - Open the donate form: Stay on this page or go to worldaidnetwork.org/donate and choose cancer treatment. - Give by card: Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. £50 typically funds one chemotherapy session. - Optional: give monthly: A regular gift matches a course that lasts weeks or months. You can change it later. ## Related pages - Cancer Emergency Appeal — Named checkout — all types of cancer, treatment not research. https://worldaidnetwork.org/appeal/cancer-emergency - Cancer hub — Nineteen type guides and the donate form. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer - Radiotherapy guide — Targeted radiation — how it works and the global machine gap. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/radiotherapy - Cancer surgery guide — Types of operation, biopsy and why a theatre bill is unaffordable. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/surgery - Leukaemia guide — Why finishing a chemotherapy course matters. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/leukaemia - Childhood cancer — Paediatric treatment and the survival gap. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/childhood-cancer - Breast cancer guide — When chemotherapy is used with surgery. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/breast-cancer - How to help cancer patients — Practical ways to fund care, not only research. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/how-to-help-cancer-patients - Cancer in developing countries — Why survival collapses when treatment is out of reach. https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/cancer-in-developing-countries - Best charity for cancer — We do not rank. Donate if treatment overseas matches. https://worldaidnetwork.org/blog/best-charity-for-cancer - Monthly giving — Keep a chemotherapy course funded between campaigns. https://worldaidnetwork.org/monthly-giving - How we work — Grants to partner hospitals, not cash to individuals. https://worldaidnetwork.org/how-we-work - Donate by card — Give to cancer treatment in a few minutes. https://worldaidnetwork.org/donate ## Frequently asked questions ### What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy uses medicines to destroy cancer cells or stop them dividing. It travels through the bloodstream, so it can reach cancer throughout the body — including cancer that has spread. This page is information, not a diagnosis. ### How is chemotherapy given? Most often as a drip into a vein, though some types are tablets at home. It is usually given in cycles — a treatment session followed by a recovery period — repeated over a course that may last several months. ### Why does chemotherapy cause side effects? It targets fast-growing cells. That includes cancer, and also some healthy cells in hair, the gut lining and bone marrow. Tiredness, nausea, hair loss and infection risk are common. They are usually temporary and can be managed. ### Does chemotherapy always cause hair loss? No. It depends on the drugs. Some cause hair loss, others thinning, others none. Where it occurs it is usually temporary. Ask your cancer team about your regimen. ### Why is chemotherapy given in cycles? So cancer cells are hit while they divide, and healthy cells have rest days to recover. Skipping rest is not a shortcut. Blood tests often decide whether the next cycle can go ahead. ### Does World Aid Network give chemotherapy in the UK? No. We do not provide NHS care or UK clinics. We fund cancer treatment — including chemotherapy where partner hospitals can deliver it — for patients who cannot pay in Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. ### How can I donate to fund chemotherapy? Give by card on this page or at https://worldaidnetwork.org/donate and choose the Cancer Emergency Appeal. Typical partner cost is £50 for one session. Gift Aid starts when Charity Commission registration is granted (application 5290505). ### Will Gift Aid apply? Gift Aid starts when Charity Commission registration is granted (application 5290505). We will contact donors when that happens. Card gifts are open now. ### Can I send chemotherapy medicines from the UK? Please do not. Parcels usually arrive late, may be the wrong drug, and cost more than paying the hospital in front of the patient. Donate on this page instead. ### How is this different from radiotherapy? Chemotherapy is medicine in the bloodstream. Radiotherapy is targeted radiation to one area. Many people have both. See the radiotherapy guide for machines, sessions and the global machine gap. ## How you can help Please donate at https://worldaidnetwork.org/cancer/treatment/chemotherapy or https://worldaidnetwork.org/donate?cause=cancer-treatment&appeal=cancer-emergency --- This is general information, not medical advice, published by World Aid Network. Always consult a qualified clinician about your own health.