Side effects of chemotherapy (2023)

FAQs

Side effects of chemotherapy? ›

For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.

For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.

The most common chemotherapy-induced side effects are nausea and vomiting, fatigue, decreased appetite, changes in taste, hair loss, dry mouth, and constipation. Management of side effects can be improved the efficacy of tumor therapy.

Sickness caused by chemotherapy can start within a couple of hours of starting your treatment and only last a day or so. Or it can come on more than 24 hours after the start of treatment. This is called delayed onset nausea and vomiting and usually lasts about a week.

Most types of pain related to chemotherapy get better or go away between individual treatments. However, nerve damage often gets worse with each dose. Sometimes the drug causing the nerve damage has to be stopped. It can take months or years for nerve damage from chemotherapy to improve or go away.

A person undergoing chemotherapy should avoid eating undercooked or raw food, interacting with actively infectious people, overexerting themselves, and consuming too much alcohol. There are also things that a person can do to minimize risks during chemotherapy.

You may be feeling tired, relieved, anxious, and happy all at the same time after your first treatment. Once you are home, follow all instructions given to you. Take your medications on time, rest, hydrate, and eat. Keep track of any side effects or new feelings you have, and report these to your care team.

During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.

If your cancer treatment includes taking oral chemotherapy, there are important safety tips you and your caregiver should follow. It is safe to touch other people while on chemotherapy. You can hug and kiss.

What hurts after chemo? ›

Some chemotherapy drugs can cause painful side effects, such as aching in the muscles and joints, headaches and stomach pains. Pain may be felt as burning, numbness, tingling or shooting pains in the hands and feet (called peripheral nerve damage). This type of pain can last long after treatment ends.

Breast cancer: Women with breast cancer have an overall 30% chance of recurrence. Many cases happen within five years of completing the initial treatment. Cervical cancer: Of those with invasive cervical cancer, an estimated 35% will have a recurrence.

You might notice an improvement in cancer symptoms, such as less pain, reduced lymph node swelling, and improved energy levels. If you use topical chemotherapy on skin lesions, the area might feel irritated and look red and swollen for the first few weeks. These are all signs that chemotherapy is working.

Doxorubicin is considered one of the strongest chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer ever invented. It can kill cancer cells at every point in their life cycle, and it's used to treat a wide variety of cancers, not just breast cancer. Doxorubicin is also known as “The Red Devil” because it is a clear bright red color.

Uncontrolled sickness can affect your quality of life on many levels. But not all chemotherapy drugs make you sick. If they do, it generally starts from a few minutes to several hours after having the drug. With some drugs, the sickness lasts for a few hours, or until the next day.

A return to normalcy is typical, but it takes a while – usually six months or so. “All who have done chemo do finally get back to normal,” Patricia said. “Treatment for breast cancer can take a whole year, but six months after it ends, life comes back – incisions heal, hair grows back, chemo brain fog lifts.”

Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.

You may worry about the safety of family and friends while you are having chemotherapy. There is little risk to visitors (including children, babies and pregnant women) because they aren't likely to come into contact with any chemotherapy drugs or body fluids.

There's usually no medical reason to stop having sex during chemo. The drugs won't have any long term physical effects on your performance or enjoyment of sex. Cancer can't be passed on to your partner during sex.

Nearly everyone who has chemotherapy has some tiredness. It can be due to the direct effect of chemotherapy on the body. But anaemia may also cause tiredness. This is because chemotherapy can stop your bone marrow from making red blood cells for a while.

How long after first chemo do you lose your hair? ›

Hair loss will usually begin gradually within two or three weeks of starting chemotherapy. For some people it may be sooner and more sudden. You may lose all or some of your hair. Your scalp might feel tender as the hair thins and falls out.

There Will Be First Chemo Treatment Side Effects

Fatigue: You may feel tired or very fatigued the day after your first treatment. This differs from tiredness that can be cured with sleep. It may feel like profound lack of energy you can't seem to shake.

The length of time for chemotherapy regimens can range from 5 minutes to 8 or more hours. It all depends on the chemotherapy. Throughout the chemotherapy, your nurse will come in and check your vitals and make sure you aren't reacting to the medications.

Having cancer does not necessarily mean you will stop working. You might take time off for appointments, treatments, or extra rest. You might work as much as possible or take a leave of absence and return later. There are benefits to working even when you have cancer.

Most people think that chemotherapy drugs always cause hair loss. But some don't cause any hair loss at all or only slight thinning. Other types of chemotherapy may cause complete hair loss. It might include your eyelashes, eyebrows, underarm, leg and sometimes pubic hair.

Does chemotherapy hurt? IV chemotherapy should not cause any pain while being administered. If you experience pain, contact the nurse taking care of you to check your IV line. An exception would be if there is a leak and the drug gets into surrounding tissues.

Some anticancer medicines may affect cells of vital organs, such as the heart, kidney, bladder, lungs, and nervous system. Chemo may have no serious long-term problems for many people. But in some cases, it can cause permanent changes or damage to the heart, lungs, nerves, kidneys, and reproductive or other organs.

Bathe every day and use warm water. Avoid soaking in spas or hot tubs. Use a mild soap for bathing. Use a soft towel to gently wash skin.

Traces of chemotherapy drug may be found in and on toilets, in disposable diapers or any clothing or laundry that a person has soiled after having a treatment. Cleaning the bathroom or handling body wastes or soiled laundry can expose you to these chemotherapy drugs.

Chemo can be harmful if it touches skin. So you need to make sure caregivers and others close to you are not exposed to your body fluids during chemo and for a few days after treatment. It's OK to have normal contact with other people, including hugging and kissing.

What is chemo belly? ›

Bloating also can be caused when the movement of food through the digestive tract slows as a result of cancer treatments, including gastric surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or other medications. The bloating associated with chemotherapy is often referred to as “chemo belly.”

Your course of chemotherapy

Each cycle of TC takes 21 days (3 weeks). On the first day of each cycle, you will have docetaxel and cyclophosphamide. You will then have no chemotherapy for the next 20 days. At the end of the 21 days, you will start your second cycle of TC. You will usually have up to 4 cycles.

For mild and moderate levels of pain, pain relievers that don't require a prescription may help. Examples include aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others).

Which Type of Cancer Spreads the Fastest? The fastest-moving cancers are pancreatic, brain, esophageal, liver, and skin. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer because it's fast-moving and there's no method of early detection.

If you have side effects, they will usually start during the first few weeks of treatment and may become more intense with each treatment cycle.

The effects of chemo are cumulative. They get worse with each cycle. My doctors warned me: Each infusion will get harder. Each cycle, expect to feel weaker.

' However, there are certain types of cancer that are known to respond highly to chemotherapy. These include all three major types of blood cancer namely leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Here are 3 types of blood-related cancers you should know about.

Today, many cancer patients receive oral chemotherapy as a treatment. This method is sometimes easier than getting chemotherapy by infusion at the hospital or clinic, because the medicine can be taken at home. It's important to understand that these pills can be just as strong as the intravenous form of chemotherapy.

How long do you feel bad on chemo? ›

Sickness caused by chemotherapy can start within a couple of hours of starting your treatment and only last a day or so. Or it can come on more than 24 hours after the start of treatment. This is called delayed onset nausea and vomiting and usually lasts about a week.

Chemotherapy is more commonly a part of the course of treatment for breast cancers diagnosed in middle or late stages. The overall five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 90%. Among those diagnosed in stage 1, the five-year survival rate is near 100%.

When treatment ends, you may expect life to return to the way it was before you were diagnosed with cancer. But it can take time to recover. You may have permanent scars on your body, or you may not be able to do some things you once did easily. Or you may even have emotional scars from going through so much.

Drinking plenty of water before and after treatment helps your body process chemotherapy drugs and flush the excess out of your system.

If you have side effects, they will usually start during the first few weeks of treatment and may become more intense with each treatment cycle.

The effects of chemo are cumulative. They get worse with each cycle. My doctors warned me: Each infusion will get harder. Each cycle, expect to feel weaker.

Most people say it takes 6 to 12 months after they finish chemotherapy before they truly feel like themselves again.

Most people have ups and downs during treatment, but support is available. Some people find they can lead an almost normal life during chemotherapy. But others find everyday life more difficult. You may feel unwell during and shortly after each treatment but recover quickly between treatments.

Whether it's due to pain from a growing tumor, swallowing difficulties caused by radiation therapy, or the nausea, loss of appetite or mouth sores that are sometimes caused by chemotherapy, involuntary weight loss is a serious side effect of cancer and its treatment for many patients.

One of the hardest things I see people struggling with is “recovery time,” particularly as it relates to fatigue from cancer treatment. The rule of thumb I usually tell my patients is that it takes about two months of recovery time for every one month of treatment before energy will return to a baseline.

How many weeks of chemo is normal? ›

Most cycles range from 2 to 6 weeks. The number of treatment doses scheduled within each cycle also depends on the prescribed chemotherapy. For example, each cycle may contain only 1 dose on the first day. Or, a cycle may contain more than 1 dose given each week or each day.

There Will Be First Chemo Treatment Side Effects

Fatigue: You may feel tired or very fatigued the day after your first treatment. This differs from tiredness that can be cured with sleep. It may feel like profound lack of energy you can't seem to shake.

Yes. It will take some extra planning and working out who can support you but it's possible to continue living alone when you have cancer. Having cancer and going through treatment raises many challenges and emotions. These may be harder to deal with when you live alone.

Is there any risk to family and friends? You may worry about the safety of family and friends while you are having chemotherapy. There is little risk to visitors (including children, babies and pregnant women) because they aren't likely to come into contact with any chemotherapy drugs or body fluids.

It is safe to touch other people while on chemotherapy. You can hug and kiss. But you do need to protect others from coming into contact with your medicine.