Death of a rogue cancer cell....

Surgery to remove my left breast along with it's 3+ cancerous tumors took care of removing some of the cancer from my body....now it had to target the cancer cells that were left to run amuck in my body...hence the need for chemo..chemo targets the all the cells....the good, the bad and the ugly! ( Cancer cells are UGGGGLY! LOL)

My doctors had handed me out this information below when I was first given the Taxol (2nd part of my chemo regiment) it answered a lot of my questions......I hope you find it informative too.......I now feel like there is a fierce game of "Space Invaders" going on in my body! lol

As taken from Chemocare.com (Scott Hamilton of the Ice Skaters Fame)

Cancerous tumors are characterized by cell division, which is no longer controlled as it is in normal tissue.   "Normal" cells stop dividing when they come into contact with like cells, a mechanism known as contact inhibition.  Cancerous cells lose this ability.  Cancer cells no longer have the normal checks and balances in place that control and limit cell division.  The process of cell division, whether normal or cancerous cells, is through the cell cycle.  The cell cycle goes from the resting phase, through active growing phases, and then to mitosis (division).

The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division.  Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division.  If the cells are unable to divide, they die.  The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink.  They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis).

Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells only when they are dividing are called cell-cycle specific.  Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells when they are at rest are called cell-cycle non-specific.  The scheduling of chemotherapy is set based on the type of cells, rate at which they divide, and the time at which a given drug is likely to be effective.  This is why chemotherapy is typically given in cycles.

Chemotherapy is most effective at killing cells that are rapidly dividing.  Unfortunately, chemotherapy does not know the difference between the cancerous cells and the normal cells. The "normal" cells will grow back and be healthy but in the meantime, side effects occur.  The "normal" cells most commonly affected by chemotherapy are the blood cells, the cells in the mouth, stomach and bowel, and the hair follicles; resulting in low blood counts, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea, and/or hair loss.  Different drugs may affect different parts of the body.

Paclitaxel belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called plant alkaloids. Plant alkaloids are made from plants.  The vinca alkaloids are made from the periwinkle plant (catharanthus rosea). The taxanes are made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree (taxus) (if anyone comes across one of these on the pacific coast can ya give it a great big ole hug from me please??LOL!).  The vinca alkaloids and taxanes are also known as antimicrotubule agents. The podophyllotoxins are derived from the May Apple plant. Camptothecan analogs are derived from the Asian "Happy Tree" (Camptotheca acuminata).  Podophyllotoxins and camptothecan analogs are also known as topoisomerase inhibitors.  The plant alkaloids are cell-cycle specific.  This means they attack the cells during various phases of division.

• Vinca alkaloids: Vincristine, Vinblastine and Vinorelbine.
  
• Taxanes:  Paclitaxel and Docetaxel.
  
• Podophyllotoxins:  Etoposide and Tenisopide.
  
• Camptothecan analogs: Irinotecan and Topotecan.

Antimicrotubule agents (such as Paclitaxel), inhibit the microtubule structures within the cell.  Microtubules are part of the cell's apparatus for dividing and replicating itself.  Inhibition of these structures ultimately results in cell death.

die cancer cell die! lol lol lol