Chemotherapy

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/chemotherapy

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Chemotherapy?Systemic treatment of disseminated cancer, hematologic malignancies, and adjuvant/neoadjuvant therapy
2. What is the therapeutic class?Cytotoxic drugs used to treat malignant diseases
3. What is the historical precursor?Observations of mustard gas effects on rapidly dividing cells during WWI
4. How did chemotherapy start?Scientists noticed mustard gas hurt fast‑growing cells in World War I, then created a safer version to treat cancer.
5. Why do people get hair loss or fevers during chemotherapy?The drugs also affect normal fast‑growing cells such as hair follicles and the gut lining, which can cause side effects.

Cytotoxic: Poisonous or toxic to cells, capable of causing cell death.
Neoadjuvant Therapy: Treatment given before the main treatment (like surgery) to shrink a tumor.
Adjuvant Therapy: Treatment given after the main treatment to kill any remaining cancer cells.
Myelosuppression: A decrease in the production of blood cells by the bone marrow, often caused by chemotherapy.