Chemotherapy is a group of chemical substances or drugs that kill the cancerous cells. It should be kept in mind that chemotherapy can also kill the highly growing normal body cells and this is why the side effects appear. Cancer can be treated only in few ways like surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Surgery does not really have any side effects. It is just like any other surgery. But the side effects of chemotherapy get severe because it even kills the normal cells. The side effects vary highly from person to person and the severity of the side effects depends on the dose of the radiation. Make sure you talk to your doctor about your health problems and the side effects of going through the process.
People generally worry a lot about the side effects but there are some things that you should know about the side effects. Doctors always try to minimise the side effects of any drug by giving the full effect of it on the disease. The side effects of any drug are not same for every person and vary depending on the overall health, the age of the patient. Some side effects may get over just with the treatment and some may have an effect on the lifetime. Chemotherapy can seriously affect internal organs like heart, kidney, and liver. In some cases, it also may bring back cancer after few years. These are the worst side effects of chemotherapy. Sometimes it has very mild side effects which get normalized after taking medications.
The most common side effects of chemotherapy are –
- Hair loss – it happens when chemotherapy stops the active growth of hair follicle cells.
- Anaemia – when the highly growing blood cells are affected by chemo the blood cell count gets lower and causes anaemia
- Huge increase or decrease in weight
- Change in colour and texture of skin and nails. The skin tends to get dry.
- Vomiting and nausea
- Problem with fertility
- Mood swings
- Kidney and heart problem
- Central nervous system disorder like having issues to concentrate and focusing. The person may also get numb.
- Lowers the immunity power which causes bleeding and bruising easily.
- Problem in digestion which leads to constipation or diarrhoea.
- Sore and pain in the digestive tract, tongue, throat etc.
- Muscle fatigue, pain and tingling.
The Chemotherapy cost in india depends upon the hospital and the facility you are getting there. Sometimes it also depends upon the dose and the complexity of the patient. In case of chemotherapy, the interaction with other drugs is an important thing. So, tell your doctor about every medicine you are taking even if it is not related to your current disease. Some vitamins can react with the chemotherapy drugs and may have an adverse effect on your health. Do not take any medicine without consulting your doctor. Remember it can make the situation worse. The initiation of side effects always has some indications of high fever, severe headache, unexplained bleeding and pain or swelling, infection, itchiness or any type of allergic reaction. Observe your health movements properly.
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