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Medical Video: Chemotherapy Side Effects
Chemotherapy drugs kill abnormal cells that divide more often than normal cells. But some normal body cells also divide rapidly, and chemotherapy can affect it too. Cells that divide rapidly include cells in the skin, hair, nails, layers of the digestive system and blood cells. This normal body tissue can heal itself. This is why you need a few weeks' rest between treatments so that normal body tissues recover from the effects of chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy affects different people in different ways too. Doctors cannot ascertain what effect this treatment has on you. You cannot predict the effect that will occur. In some people, side effects are more severe than in other people.
Many people can return to activities during the treatment period. Some feel very tired and need to slowly move. Side effects may be difficult to undergo, but will disappear once treatment is finished.
Chemotherapy affects people in different ways. You may experience a few side effects and other people have more effects. Chemotherapy drugs have different side effects.
The most common side effects of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy has several common side effects. Blood cells divide quickly, and chemotherapy can reduce the number of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets that you have. This means you are more prone to infection, tired, and prone to nosebleeds and other bleeding problems.
Fatigue is the most common effect of chemotherapy. This can last for several months after treatment is over. How fast you can recover depends on your health condition, the amount of care you are taking, and other treatments you are taking.
Other side effects can include:
- Changes in taste and appetite
- Changes in the menstrual cycle
- Eye pain - feels like there is sand in the eye, can be overcome with eye drops
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Hair loss
- Pain in the mouth
- Constipation
Side effects may be difficult to pass. But most side effects will disappear once treatment is complete.
Some chemotherapy can cause long-term side effects. You may feel tired for some time after the treatment is over. For some people, it takes almost a year until the energy returns.
If you have not experienced menopause before breast cancer, you need to know that chemotherapy can affect your ability to get pregnant. If you are still menstruating, menstruation will stop if you run chemotherapy. This depends on how close you are at the normal age of menopause. Menstruation will return from 6 months to 1 year after treatment is completed, or may not occur again and you experience premature menopause. If you experience menstruation again, it's probably not as routine as before.
If your periods stop, this is due to treatments that stop the ovaries from producing female hormones. You can also experience menopausal symptoms, such as:
- Hot and sweaty
- Mood changes
Some types of chemotherapy can increase the risk of other cancers in the future. Your nursing team will notify you if this case occurs in the treatment you are undergoing.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
