What is maintenance after chemo?

Maintenance therapy is the ongoing treatment of cancer with medication after the cancer has responded to the first recommended treatment. Maintenance therapy, sometimes called continuous therapy, is used for the following reasons: To prevent the cancer's return.

What are the side effects of maintenance chemo?

Other side effects of chemotherapy treatment might include: constipation. jaw pain. numbness and tingling in the fingers or toes.

How long is the maintenance phase of chemotherapy?

Standard ALL treatment usually takes between 2 to 3 years altogether. The maintenance phase takes up most of this time as it lasts 2 years. During the maintenance phase people are often back to work or college. If you have a stem cell or bone marrow transplant the treatment time is shorter but more intensive.

How do I maintain my health after chemo?

What happens after chemo treatment is finished?

After your last dose of chemotherapy, your white blood cell count will go down. It should start to go back to normal about a month after your last treatment. Your red blood cell count may also go down, but it should go back to normal around the same time.

What is maintenance chemotherapy?

Can you live a normal life after chemo?

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.

How long after chemo does your body get back to normal?

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. Everyone is different but at least this gives you a ballpark.

What is the best food after chemo?

After surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, extra protein is usually needed to heal tissues and help fight infection. Good sources of protein include fish, poultry, lean red meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, nuts and nut butters, dried beans, peas and lentils, and soy foods.

How many rounds of chemo is normal?

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.

How can I rebuild my immune system after chemo?

How long can you live on maintenance chemo?

How long will I receive maintenance therapy? How long you receive maintenance therapy depends on many factors. When used for potentially curable cancers during remission, maintenance treatment is given for a specified length of time, usually between 6 weeks and 2 years.

How long is maintenance for ALL?

Maintenance treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is given to maintain remission. It is usually given over a long period of time and often lasts for 2–3 years.

Does hair grow back on maintenance chemo?

Hair regrowth after chemotherapy usually starts within 1 to 3 months after the therapy has finished. Up to 60 percent of patients report a change in hair color or structure during the first wave of hair regrowth, with many experiencing curlier hair.

Does maintenance chemo cause hair loss?

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.

What are the signs that chemo is working?

Complete response - all of the cancer or tumor disappears; there is no evidence of disease. A tumor marker (if applicable) may fall within the normal range. Partial response - the cancer has shrunk by a percentage but disease remains. A tumor marker (if applicable) may have fallen but evidence of disease remains.

Is 4 chemo treatments enough?

Four cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy are sufficient for most breast cancer patients, according to results of a Phase III trial of 3,173 women reported at the CTCR-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

What is a 21 day chemo cycle?

Your course of chemotherapy

You usually have a course of several cycles of treatment over a few months. 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.

Why do oncologists push chemo?

An oncologist may recommend chemotherapy before and/or after another treatment. For example, in a patient with breast cancer, chemotherapy may be used before surgery, to try to shrink the tumor. The same patient may benefit from chemotherapy after surgery to try to destroy remaining cancer cells.

Can I drink milk after chemo?

A protein found in milk can alleviate chemotherapy side effects, potentially bringing relief to millions of patients undergoing cancer treatment, according to US researchers.

What should chemo patients avoid?

Stay away from strong smelling foods to avoid aggravating any disorders of taste. Avoid fatty fried, spicy and overly sweet foods, as they may induce nausea. Avoid refined sugars (including raw, brown and palm sugar) as well as refined carbohydrates as most tumours prefer glucose as a source of energy.

How can I flush chemo out of my system?

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

What is the fastest way to recover from chemotherapy?

Does chemo permanently damage immune system?

Now, new research suggests that the effects of chemotherapy can compromise part of the immune system for up to nine months after treatment, leaving patients vulnerable to infections – at least when it comes to early-stage breast cancer patients who've been treated with a certain type of chemotherapy.

Does chemo age your face?

So, it is not surprising that many people feel that they age dramatically during chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, the epidermis loses its ability to hold on to moisture, which leads to fine lines in the skin's surface. In the dermis, the collagen and elastin break down, which weakens the skin's support structure.