Is chemotherapy only given through an IV?

No. While an IV (into a vein) is the most common way chemotherapy is given, it is not the only way.

Chemotherapy may also be given as pills, capsules, or liquids you swallow, as an injection into a muscle or under the skin, or as a cream you rub onto your skin. It can also be placed into specific areas of the body, such as the space around the brain and spinal cord, the peritoneal cavity, or an artery that leads to the cancer.

Even IV chemotherapy can be delivered in different ways. It may go through a thin needle in the hand or lower arm, or through a catheter (a soft tube in a large vein), a port (a small disc under the skin), or a pump.

Which method is used depends on your type of cancer, the drugs your team chooses, and where the cancer is. Your care team is the best source of information about how your chemotherapy will be given.