Chemotherapy (drugs used to kill cancer cells divide rapidly) is a common treatment to combat breast cancer. Although chemotherapy can kill cancer cells in your body and help you regain health, the way back to good health may be long, difficult, and many side effects.
Chemotherapy: The Short-Term Discomforts
Although chemotherapy is directed at cancer cells, but can also damage or destroy the other, healthy cells and can cause a variety of unwanted side effects. Side effects vary "depending on the drugs used to treat breast cancer," according to Kathleen Havlín, MD, associate professor of hematology and oncology division at the University of Cincinnati. Chemotherapy can cause you to feel tired and weak and do not want to eat, and can make hair fall out. Many women also believe that blood or bruises during chemotherapy, and that they develop mouth ulcers.
Nausea and vomiting are a quantity of the most common side effects of chemotherapy, but there's some great anti-nausea medications available now. In fact, says Dr. Havlin, "it's even possible not to get sick at all now with the new medications."
Another side effect of chemotherapy, decrease in white blood cells (leukopenia), which can be left vulnerable to infection. But it is a side effect can be managed with new technologies. Injection is available in patients receiving chemotherapy to prevent the white blood cells to fall too low, according Havlín.
Chemotherapy: The Long-Term Effects
Chemotherapy is the introduction of very strong medications and damage your body. Although designed to kill harmful cancer cells can cause damage to healthy cells in your body as well. Here are some examples:
Nerve damage. a number of the drugs that can be used in chemotherapy may cause damage to some nerve endings, resulting in numbness, tingling, or pain in the hands or feet. These side effects may go away after chemotherapy has ended, but some women may experience permanent nerve damage.
Memory issues. Some women may experience some damage caused by chemotherapy that affects their ability to keep in mind & concentrate. This is not very common, & most women who experience it regain full mental function after several years.
Acute & chronic fatigue. Many women complain of fatigue when beginning .
chemotherapy. It may be caused by anemia (a low red blood count resulting from the chemotherapy drug), sleep issues, or depression following treatment. However, many women also complain of chronic tiredness or weakness that persists for years beyond chemotherapy, along with general pain in their body.
Damage to the heart. Because certain drugs may affect the heart, heart function is closely monitored in the coursework of chemotherapy treatment. If damage to the heart is detected, the treatment is stopped immediately.
Changes to your menstrual cycle. Chemotherapy medications may affect your menstrual cycle — it may be different from usual, or you may go into early menopause because of chemotherapy.
Leukemia. Although rare, chemotherapy may slightly increase the risk of developing leukemia, a cancer of the blood, depending on which chemotherapy is selected, the dose, & the length of treatment.
Physically, there's steps females can take to help themselves feel better in the coursework of chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy: Coping Day-to-Day
Females can also seek treatment for their emotional health to help them deal with the trauma of breast cancer & chemotherapy. Joining a support group or teaming up with another breast cancer patient can be a great way to help get through the day-to-day challenges.
"They should drink lots of water, stay active and avoid alcohol," says Virginia Kaklamani, MD, an oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
"Sometimes patients don't feel comfortable speaking to their doctors about issues & they would listen to the answer from other females," says Dr. Kaklamani. This type of support can help keep a woman's emotional health in check while they deals with the physical effects of cancer treatment.
Other tips to help you manage the day-to-day toll that chemotherapy takes on your body include:
Control nausea and vomiting with medications, small & frequent meals, or bland foods that can soothe your stomach.
Buy a few wigs, scarves, hats, and other accessories to help you deal together with your hair loss.
Get regular exercise and eat a healthy, balanced diet to help combat fatigue.
Reduce pain from mouth sores by avoiding irritants such as spicy food, hot food & drinks, alcohol, & smoking. Coat your mouth before meals with a spoonful of sour cream.
Focus on foods that don't make you feel sick. Try cold foods & fresh vegetables or try ordering takeout so you don't must cook or smell food. You might also have a mate cook for you.
there's a wide range of other lifestyle tweaks you can make, depending on your specific reactions to chemotherapy. Open the lines of communication together with your doctor; together you can come up with an action plan that works best for you.
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