COMPLETE Guide For Chemotherapy Effects and It's Treatment

Chemotherapy Risks

Chemotherapy is a mode of treatment which works against cancer or rather it is an anti-cancer mode of treatment. The drugs that are used to fight against cancerous cells eradicate these cancerous cells or slow down the rapid growth of these cancerous cells.

Chemotherapy can be applied in different ways like it can be injected, administered intravenously, given orally and even topically. Chemotherapy treatment has proved its effectiveness to treat cancer but then the side effects associated with chemotherapy are also seen like there is loss of memory, loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, low blood cell count, hair loss etc. The side effects vary from patient to patient depending upon the stages of cancer, the overall health of the patient etc. Not only this due to the low blood count the patients are at a higher risk of developing other diseases as the immune system of the body is not strong due to low white blood cells or white blood corpuscles.

The following are some of the conditions where in the patients are at a higher risk of catching infections:

  1. Myelosuppressive chemotherapy is a mode of treatment where in there is a decrease in the blood count.
  2. Cancer patients suffering from heart diseases
  3. In case of open wounds
  4. Patient is bed ridden or is an invalid person.
  5. Advanced stage of cancer
  6. Patient is in his or her late sixties.
  7. Patients who have undergone radiation therapy or chemotherapy
  8. Anaemia

In case of chemotherapy the patient need not always be hospitalized as this mode of treatment can be administered at homes, in clinics, in the doctor’s office, and even in the outpatients department or in severe cases wherein hospitalization becomes utmost necessity. In case the chemotherapy drugs are in a pill or tablet form then the drugs can be taken orally or even topically.

Low count of white blood cells or neutropenia and a low count of red blood cells or anaemia, low platelet count or thrombocytopenia, hair loss, nausea are all the common side effects that are associated with chemotherapy. Due to this the body’s immune system becomes weak and thus is easily susceptible to infections.

White blood cells are known to help fight against diseases but due to chemotherapy there is a marked decrease in their count thus increasing the chances of infection. Red blood cells are carriers of oxygen which is passed throughout the body, drop in the level or haemoglobin or red blood cells the patient becomes anaemic. To increase the RBC either the patient needs to undergo blood transfusion or take medications having erythroprotein which acts as a stimulating agent to help increase the production of these red blood cells in the bone marrow.

In case of low platelet the healing power of the body against infection decreases thus it can be termed as thrombocytopenia and here again a platelet transfusion becomes necessary to help stop internal as well as external bleeding in the body.

Due to all the above mentioned side effects that are associated with chemotherapy you need to follow a healthy diet regime so that you will face only a minimal side effect when you undergo chemotherapy and will also manage to undergo this treatment stress free.