Term: myeloablative chemotherapy

Pronunciation: (MY-eh-loh-a-BLAY-tiv KEE-moh-THAYR-uh-pee)

Description:

High-dose chemotherapy that kills cells in the bone marrow, including cancer cells. It lowers the number of normal blood-forming cells in the bone marrow, and can cause severe side effects. Myeloablative chemotherapy is usually followed by a bone marrow or stem cell transplant to rebuild the bone marrow.