Chemotherapy Side Effects

Cancer is the twentieth century greatest enemy of all besides AIDS. Very many people lose their beloved ones to this illness and very many are still struggling with chemotherapy treatment as it is followed by the people they love. Knowing what cancer patients go through while following chemotherapy is very difficult but informative materials may get you a bit closer to supporting someone in sufferance. To begin with, chemotherapy side effects are aspects that patients dread most.

There are very numerous side effects, and their extent and intensity vary according to the length of the treatment and the type of drugs involved. Most chemotherapy side effects are temporary and they seem to completely go away once the therapy is stopped. Very rarely, there are encountered some effects that are long term or that may appear only years after following a certain treatment.

If you were interested in finding out more about the chemotherapy side effects specific to various treatments or combinations of drugs, the number of sources where you can get information from is really high. The list with potential chemotherapy side effects is about 200 items long and it includes such effects as abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea, chills, cardio-toxicity, edema, eye problems, lack of appetite, weight gain or loss, memory loss, leukemia, infections of various types in various parts of the body, nose bleeds, pulmonary embolus, pneumonia, rapid heartbeat, water retention, and so on. Going through such a list will surely turn out quite discouraging but you ought to know that these chemotherapy side effects will not appear all at once and in the same patient. Yet, side effects differ according to the kind of drugs used and to the concentration prescribed by the doctor, moreover, not all side effects will affect one individual.

Most cancer patients are explained by their doctors what chemotherapy side effects there may appear while following the treatment offered and how long they are going to persist, if so, once the treatment is stopped. Explaining what the patient will go through is very important as this will a negative psychological reaction on the part of the patient. Most often, doctors come up with several treatment schemes and present their to their patients with the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages.

Filed Under: Chemotherapy