Chemotherapy – What To Expect?
When one has cancer the next question would be: Are you going to undergo chemotherapy? Unlike before, cancer used to be a dreaded disease. In the earlier years, when you are diagnosed with cancer, it is like a death sentence. You are just waiting for your time to die or for the disease to spread. But with the advances in technology, there is already a cure for cancer and that is chemotherapy.
So what is chemotherapy and how does it treat cancer? Chemotherapy is a type of treatment that is used to treat cancer with the use of drugs. Cancer happens when a cell or a group of cells show these behaviors: uncontrolled growth, invasion and metastasis. With uncontrolled growth, the cells divide beyond the normal limit or when it is supposed to stop dividing already. Invasion happens when it intrudes and destroys tissues near it and metastasis is when it spreads to other locations through the lymph or the blood. When you have a cancer, it is possible that you will also have a tumor, that is, with the exception of leukemia.
The drugs used in chemotherapy are very effective at killing cells that are fast-growing. However, chemotherapy drugs cannot tell the difference between cancel cells and those that are fast-growing normal cells. These normal cells will grow back and be healthy but during the chemotherapy, side effects can happen. These cells are the blood cells, cells in the lining of the mouth, stomach and intestine as well as hair follicles. Some of the side effects are low blood count, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea and hair loss.
Nausea usually does not happen early on the treatment. It usually happens when the treatment is halfway through. If the meds are administered through IV, you might even have this metallic taste every time the meds are administered. You might also experience severe salivation. As for nausea, talk to your doctor about it if it becomes unbearable as he might be able to adjust the treatment so that you will not feel nauseated most of the time and you will feel relief. As for losing your hair, not all chemotherapy patients lose their hair but they compose a very small percentage of chemotherapy patients. These side effects will go away as soon as the treatment is over.
Chemotherapy is administered usually through IV but there are also pill forms. IV-administered chemotherapy seems to be the most preferred choice of doctors because it works faster than when administered orally.
Once chemotherapy is done, you cannot go back to doing your normal activities as the treatment has taken a toll on your body. It will take a few months for you to be able to do your usual activities. You have to remember that chemotherapy killed all your fast-growing cells and that means you are vulnerable and susceptible to all kinds of diseases. Your immune system is weak and you will therefore need time to recover. Remember to enjoy your rest and always have constant communication with your doctor even after the treatment for any progress or decline.
