Chemotherapy Side Effects Management
Chemotherapy treats numerous types of cancer effectively. But like other treatments, it often causes side effects. The side effects of chemotherapy can change person to person. They rely on the type of cancer, location, medications and dose, and your overall health.
Chemotherapy treatment works on live cells. Live cells are cells that are growing and dividing into more additional of the same type of cell.
Cancer cells are live, but so are some healthy cells. These retain cells in your blood, mouth, digestive system, and hair follicles. When chemotherapy damages these healthy cells, side effects occur.
Can side effects be treated?
Yes it can be treated. Cancer specialists in Pune Dr. Pratik Patil can help you to prevent or treat several side effects. Today, many more drugs are available. Controlling and treating side effects is called palliative care or supportive care. It is also an important part of cancer treatment.
Doctors and scientists work continuously to develop drugs, drug blends, and ways of giving remedies with fewer side effects. Many kinds of chemotherapy are easier to endure than they were a few years ago.
Common side effects of chemotherapy:
Various drugs result in different side effects. Specific types of chemotherapy often have distinct side effects. But each person’s experience is dissimilar.
Tell your doctor about all the side effects you detect. For most types of chemotherapy, side effects do not show how well the medicine is working.
Below is a list of the most common side effects of chemotherapy.
- Fatigue: Fatigue is feeling exhausted nearly all the time. It is the most typical side effect of chemotherapy.
- Pain: Chemotherapy occasionally causes pain. This can includes Headaches, Muscle pain, Stomach pain, Pain from nerve damage, such as burning, numbness, etc. Many types of pain related to chemotherapy get better or go out between medications. However, nerve deterioration often gets more ominous with each dose. Periodically the medication causing the nerve damage has to be controlled. It can take months or years for nerve damage from chemotherapy to enhance or go away. In some people, it never entirely goes away. Treatment of pain often varies based on what is driving it. It is essential to talk with your doctor about pain while you are taking chemotherapy. There can be different reasons for pain except for chemotherapy, such as cancer itself. If the pain is connected to chemotherapy, doctors can treat it by Giving pain-relieving drugs, Blocking pain signals from the nerves to the brain, Revising doses of chemotherapy
- Mouth and throat sores: Chemotherapy can hurt the cells inside the mouth and throat. This causes painful sores in these places, a state called mucositis. Mouth sores usually happen 5 to 14 days after therapy. The sores can get infected. Eating a nutritious diet and maintaining your mouth and teeth clean can reduce your risk of mouth sores. Mouth sores usually go out entirely when treatment ends.
- Diarrhea: Some chemotherapy causes loose or watery bowel motions. Stopping diarrhea or treating it earlier helps keep you from getting dehydrated. It also allows the prevention of other health problems.
- Nausea and vomiting: Chemotherapy can result in nausea and vomiting. Whether you have these side effects, and how much, depends on the exact medications and dose. The right drugs given before and after each dose of chemotherapy can usually control nausea and vomiting.
- Constipation: Chemotherapy may cause constipation. This means not having a bowel motion often enough or having difficult bowel movements. Other drugs, such as pain medication, can also induce constipation. You can reduce your risk of constipation by consuming enough fluids, eating balanced meals, and getting adequate exercise.
- Blood disorders: Your bone marrow is the porous tissue inside your bones. It makes fresh blood cells. Chemotherapy impacts this process, so you might have side effects from having too irregular blood cells. Generally, the number of blood cells returns to normal after chemotherapy is finished. But during therapy, low numbers of blood cells can cause issues and must be monitored closely.
- Changes in thinking and memory: Some individuals have trouble thinking plainly and focusing after chemotherapy. Cancer survivors usually call this chemobrain. Your doctor would call it cognitive changes or cognitive dysfunction.
- Sexual and reproductive issues: Chemotherapy can impact your fertility. For females, this is the ability to get expectant and carry a pregnancy. For men, fertility is the capability to make a female pregnant. Being exhausted or feeling unwell from cancer or therapy can also impact your capability to enjoy sex. Talk with your doctor about these probable side effects before therapy starts. Women might need a Pap test prior to starting chemotherapy. A Pap test collects a sample of cells from the cervix. Chemotherapy can cause deceptive results on the test. Chemotherapy can also hurt an unborn baby, called a fetus. This is especially true in the first 3 months of pregnancy when the organs are still growing.
- Appetite loss: You might eat less than expected, not feel starved at all, or feel full after eating a little amount. If this lasts via therapy, you may lose weight and not get the nutrition you require. You may also lose muscle mass and power. All these things cause it more difficult to recover from chemotherapy.
- Hair loss: Several types of chemotherapy results in hair loss all over your body. It may come out a slight at a time or in large chunks. Hair loss normally begins after the first several weeks of chemotherapy. It tends to improve 1 to 2 months into therapy. Your doctor can forecast the risk of hair loss based on the medications and doses you are obtaining.
- Long-term side effects:Most of the side effects go away after treatment. But some persists, come back, or evolve later. For example, some types of chemotherapy may induce permanent damage to the heart, lung, liver, kidneys, or reproductive system. And some people have problem with thinking, focusing, and memory for months or years after therapy.
Need Chemotherapy Side Effects Management in pune?
Dr. Pratik Patil is the best Cancer Specialist in Pune with experience of more than 12 years. He has special interests in chemotherapy side effects management treatment. For more information about cancer and treatment options, or to book an appointment with the best oncologist in pune call +919637439163 or Click on Book Appointment for online booking.