What is the most common side effect of chemotherapy?

Tiredness (fatigue) is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. Many people having treatment feel tired a lot of the time or get tired very easily doing everyday tasks.

What is the most serious side effect of chemotherapy?

Low blood cell counts is the most common and most serious side effect of chemotherapy. When it happens, the dose of chemotherapy is adjusted right away or chemotherapy may have to be stopped temporarily. A low white blood cell count (neutropenia or leukopenia) increases the risk for infection.

How long do chemo side effects last?

How long do side effects last? Many side effects go away fairly quickly, but some might take months or even years to go away completely. These are called late effects. Sometimes the side effects can last a lifetime, such as when chemo causes long-term damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, or reproductive organs.

Do chemo side effects get worse with each 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.

How many days after chemo do you feel better?

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

Acute Complications of Chemotherapy (side effects, adverse effects)

What should you not do after chemo?

What is the toughest chemotherapy?

Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) is one of the most powerful chemotherapy drugs 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. Unfortunately, the drug can also damage heart cells, so a patient can't take it indefinitely.

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 long after first chemo Do you feel sick?

Acute nausea and vomiting usually happens within minutes to hours after treatment is given, and usually within the first 24 hours. This is more common when treatment is given by IV infusion or when taken by mouth.

Which is harder on the body chemo or radiation?

Since radiation therapy is focused on one area of your body, you may experience fewer side effects than with chemotherapy. However, it may still affect healthy cells in your body.

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.

What are the signs that chemo is not working?

Here are some signs that chemotherapy may not be working as well as expected: tumors aren't shrinking. new tumors keep forming. cancer is spreading to new areas.

How do you feel after first chemo treatment?

The most commonly reported side effect after receiving chemotherapy is fatigue. 7 Give yourself time for extra rest and sleep in the days after a session. Tell your healthcare provider if your fatigue begins to affect your ability to function or complete basic tasks, like bathing.

What are the most common life threatening complications after chemotherapy?

Hypersensitivity and anaphylactic reactions. Anaphylaxis and hypersensitivity reactions are among the most common side effects of chemotherapy. Reactions range from mild infusion reactions such as itching and hypertension to severe and potentially life-threatening.

How do people survive chemo side effects?

Is second round of chemo worse than first?

Overall, my second round of chemo went much better than the first... thanks to an adjustment Dr. Soule made based on my round one experience (she extended my steroid to be taken for three days after chemo, instead of just one, though with smaller doses on each day).

Does everyone get sick from chemo?

Chemotherapy can make you feel sick (nauseated) or cause you to vomit. Not everyone feels sick during or after chemotherapy, but if nausea affects you, it will usually start a few hours after treatment. Nausea may last for many hours and be accompanied by vomiting or retching.

Can you drive yourself to chemo?

Have a friend or family member drive you to your first treatment. Most people can drive themselves to and from chemotherapy sessions. But the first time you may find that the medications make you sleepy or cause other side effects that make driving difficult.

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.

What is life like after chemotherapy?

Life after cancer treatment can present its own challenges. You may have mixed feelings when treatment ends, and worry that every ache and pain means the cancer is coming back. Some people say that they feel pressure to return to “normal life”.

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.

Which chemo is the Red Devil?

Can the red devil be defanged? Doxorubicin, an old chemotherapy drug that carries this unusual moniker because of its distinctive hue and fearsome toxicity, remains a key treatment for many cancer patients.

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.

Which chemo is worse AC or Taxol?

AC was worse for me

I had 4 rounds every 2 weeks of AC and 12 weekly of taxol. The AC made me nauseas and taxol did not. I was actually able to go back to work when I started the taxol. I could not work through the AC, the nausea was hard on me but I never vomited.

Why can't chemo patients have ice?

You are being treated for cancer with a chemotherapy medication called Oxaliplatin. This medication has an unusual side effect called “cold dysesthesia”. This means that different parts of your body may be very sensitive to cold – cold drinks, cold food, and cool or cold outdoor temperatures.