CANCER TREATMENTS: CHEMOTHERAPY
Chemotherapy is a widely used term for very strong ‘anticancer’ drugs, which are designed to kill off and reduce the cancer cells invading further into the body. Some are given by injection, others by intravenous drip, and some in tablet form. The term, ‘chemotherapy’ implies that all drugs given for cancer are the same for each patient with the same side effects. This is not true.
There are hundreds of different types and combinations of ‘anti-cancer’ drugs. Your cancer specialist will recommend the best combination of drugs to treat YOUR cancer. This may differ from experiences of others that you know, so it is not helpful to think that your reactions will be the same as theirs. The cancer specialist will spend time discussing the length of treatment, possible side effects and ways these side effects can be minimized.
I felt that my best chance of survival was to agree to chemotherapy rather than opting for a purely natural approach. Because I am so much into natural therapies, I never really saw the chemo in a positive way -1 thought chemo was putting toxic stuff in my body and I wanted it out as soon as possible. I just felt totally vulnerable, but deep down knew I really had no choice if I wanted to survive.
Seline
Some drugs are stronger than others and may cause hair loss of the head, pubis, eyebrows, armpits and legs. In almost all cases, the hair does grow back within eight weeks of completing the chemotherapy course. However, despite this, many women find it difficult to cope with the loss of hair as for many it is the first breakthrough of ‘denial’ into the realization that ‘Yes, my cancer is a reality’.
One of the oldest myths is that chemotherapy causes severe vomiting and nausea. Yes – last century it certainly did, but improvements in medication now mean that there is very little vomiting and nausea in most cases.
Nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy drugs are now significantly reduced thanks to extra ‘anti nausea drugs being given at the same time as the chemotherapy to reduce this side effect.
Some drugs may cause temporary mouth ulcers and loss of appetite, extremely dry skin, and brittle nails, reduced sense of smell, constipation or diarrhea.
Most patients having chemotherapy experience tiredness in the first two to three days after each treatment. This is due to a build up of the drugs in the body to fight the cancer cells. It is also nature’s way of enforcing the patient to rest to enable this ‘fight’ to happen in the most effective way. The tiredness may lead to a loss of interest in sexual intercourse and libido.
Some patients experience slight forgetfulness, including the ability to spell, but mental function usually returns to normal after the treatment is finished.
The chemo builds up in your body and by the second, third, fourth I lost my sense of humour. We would go out and meet our mates for lunch and laugh.
They made us feel good and it was most important to stay in touch with friends.
Fran
Most of these side effects are extremely normal despite some patients thinking they ‘were going mad’ as a result of the treatment. Many patients find it beneficial to ‘celebrate’ the half way mark of their treatments, knowing they are nearly finished.
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