Chemotherapy is used to kill the cancer cells but merely, it also influence over the healthy cells of the body. As such, it will be two kinds of Side Effects which are:-
• Short term Side Effects
• Chronis (long term drawback)
There can be high chances of inconvenience, discomfort and yet death. The Side Effects of Chemotherapy:- diarrhea, nausea, pain, constipation, mouth sours, hair loss and can be some Side Effects related with blood.
Side Effects to CBC
CBC is complete cell count which assists doctors to discover the side effect of chemotherapy. Some Side Effects related with blood are:-
• Anemia: The cause of anemia is the lower amount of red blood cells. The red blood cells comprises of HB (hemoglobin) which holds oxygen from lungs to organs and muscles of the body. Oxygen is very crucial for the health of organs and tissues of the body. The anemia can be treated with many ways. The quantity of red blood cells can be increased in the blood with two stimulating agents- Red blood cell transfusions and erythropoiesis.
• Neutropenia: Neutropenia is a scientific name, a low infection fighting white blood cell count. When the quantity of these white blood cells is growing slowly then the body can get damaged and makes you feel weak during inducing the doses of Chemotherapy in large amount.
• Thrombocytopenia: A low platelet count, a scientific name is ‘Thrombocytopenia’. Due to low platelet count, there can be bruising and excessive bleeding.
These Side Effects of chemotherapy are diagnosed through the CBC test.
Bone marrow suppression:
In the inner part of the body, this liquid bone marrow is found which acts as crucial part in the development of white blood cells ,red blood cells and platelets. This is a very common drawback where bone narrow got damaged.
Hair loss:
The drugs which are used in the treatment of chemotherapy can influence over the increasing cells of hair follicle. The variations can be happened like breaking of hair from scalp, hair get brittle or hair falling. It can be prevented by taking the medicines. The hair loss mainly influenced with the drugs which are used in the treatment of chemotherapy and also depend upon the period of the treatment. You can experience –thinning of hair or baldness. There can be chances of falling of hair from body hair, eyebrows or from pubis hair as such it is not extremely bad for the reason if the low active growth of the hair follicles compare to the growth of hair on scalp. During the treatment, hair falling is a common thing. After the completion of the treatment, the hair would start growing again. The color and texture of the hair may vary than your original hair. You may feel loss of self-confidence or depression due to hair loss.
Throat and Mouth sores:
The drugs which are used in the treatment of chemotherapy can cause throat and mouth sores. The stomatitis is the sores or inflammation in the mouth. Esophagitis refers to variation in esophagus and Pharyngitis is alike variation in the throat. The initial clue of mouth sores is the dry and pale look of mouth lining. The person may feel throat and mouth sore or gums and it turns inflamed and red. The tongue can face difficulties like swollen and coating which results to problems like swallow. Some other problems can be raised like infection, painful ulcers and bleeding because of pharyngitis,esophygitis and stomatitis. These problems are not permanent and persist for 5-14 days.
Change in taste:
A person who is suffering from cancer and taking the treatment of cancer can face the changes in his or her taste of food. It may cause weight change, anorexia and malnutrition. The person may desire more or can start disliking like-
pork, tomato, sweet, tomato products, and beef. Most of the time, the person is having the taste of medicine in his mouth. In the body, receptors cells are in the mouth which states the flavor of the food for taste. In the treatment of chemotherapy, these changes are developed in the taste receptor cells. The causes of change in taste can be- unpleasant odors, dentures, mouth infections and oral hygiene. During the treatment, these changes will remain.
Constipation:
It is a situation of dry, infrequent, and hard stool. During constipation, the person may feel increase in pain, gas, cramping and bloating,
Causes of the constipation:
• Some chemotherapy drugs
• Depression
• Complete bed rest
• Decrease in intake of food and low fiber food
• Lack of physical activity
To overcome from constipation, the person needs to drink more and to take fibrous food. You can consult doctor who will tell you the reasons and treatment of your problems.
Change and loss in weight:
With the usage of chemotherapy medicines, the ‘Anorexia’ can be caused. It is mild enough but if it is serious then it can be ‘cachexia’. It can cause loss of muscles and malnutrition. You can recover your body by taking proper diet and it will help you to combat with infections and diseases. Appetite and weight loss is not permanent and you can increase your weight after completing the treatment of chemotherapy. The reasons of weight loss can be- side effects of drug, vomiting, appetite loss and diarrhea. One another drawback of this treatment is weight gain. The causes of these are fluid retention, chemotherapy regimens containing steroids, , electrolyte imbalances and inactivity.
Fatigue:
During the treatment of chemotherapy, fatigue is one another drawback which often happens. The person may feel problem to thinking, lack of energy, weakness, weariness, constipation, forgetfulness, and decrease in mental and physical functioning and, lack of energy. The quality and health of the life can be changed by fatigue. The care team can help you to correct these problems.
Heart Damage:
In the treatment of chemotherapy, around 1% to 10% of patients got heart damages mainly heart muscles damages because of drugs like anthrcyclines, doxorubicin, daunorubicin and some other drugs. It may result to fluid build up and few more problems. The person can experience symptoms like swelling and puffiness in hands and feet, erratic heart beats, breath, dry cough.
Change in Thinking and memory:
During the treatment of chemotherapy, it can change the functioning of brain. But, less number of cancer patients faced this problem and it happens only after some years of the treatment. There can be affection to the activity like, comprehension or understanding, memory and reasoning and concentration.
Changes in nervous system:
With the use of chemotherapy drugs, some variations can be in peripheral or cranial nerves and in central nervous system. The cranial nerves are one of the crucial parts of the body which helps in movement and touch sensation of face, neck and hand. These are also crucial for hearing, vision, smell and taste. Also, the peripheral nerves are crucial for movement, touch sensation and regulating activities of internal organs. These Side Effects happen in initial stages of chemotherapy or after several years.
The symptoms of change in central nervous system:-
• Depression
• Vomiting and nausea
• Headache
• Confusion
• Sleepiness
• Fever
The symptoms you experience after damage of cranial nerves are:
• Tingling
• Numbness
• Decrease in sensation
Lung Damage:
The lung can be damaged by a drug called bleomaycin. The growing chances of lung damage are the radiation to the chest with the chemotherapy. The age also plays important role in lung damage. People who are 70 or more than 70, their lungs can be damaged by bleomaycin. The indications of lung damage are fever, shortness of breathing and dry cough.