When chemotherapy is used to treat cancer, a series of drugs are administered to reduce the size of a malignant tumor, destroy cancerous cells or make other treatment options viable. These drugs have the ability to target any cell that divides at a fairly high rate, which is one of the traits of cancer. But, there's an inherent problem with this form of treatment because the drugs are unable to discern between those cells that are healthy and those cells that are cancerous, often causing a number of side effects during treatment.
Digestive Disturbances
Of all the side effects involving chemotherapy, the most common are disturbances in your digestion. This can affect you in a number of different ways, but it usually entails some level of nausea, upset stomach, vomiting and a loss of appetite. Diarrhea and constipation can also manifest during your course of treatment. It depends on how your body reacts to these "anticancer" agents; however, certain drugs are generally more apt to cause these side effects than others, such as cisplatin, carboplatin, altretamine and oxaliplatin. You're also more likely to experience digestive disturbances if you're female, younger than 50, suffer from motion sickness or have a history of vomiting because of sickness.
Hair Loss
Following digestive issues, another frequent side effect is hair loss. The reason for this is that follicle cells (much like cancer cells) divide at a much faster rate than other cells in the body, which ultimately draws the attention of the "chemo" drugs. For most people, hair loss usually begins anywhere between 10 and 14 days after your first session. Yet not everyone loses their hair from chemotherapy. Some people might only experience a mild thinning, but others will see clumps of hair coming up from their scalp. It's based on the person as well as the type of chemotherapy drugs used.
Fatigue
This side effect is really a combination of factors. Not only is it caused by the drugs used for treatment, but it's also linked to the cancer itself as well as the psychological and emotional effects of the disease.
Sores and Ulcers
Much like hair loss, these lesions are largely because of your digestive cells sharing the trait of rapid division with cancerous cells. The drugs cause these cells to become irritated and inflamed, resulting in the formation of sores on the lips as well as within the mouth, throat and stomach.
Tissue Damage
Another potential side effect of chemotherapy is damage to healthy tissue, but the area and severity of damage is usually based on the location of the disease. Tissue damage might lead to fertility issues as well as problems with your heart, lungs, kidneys or veins and arteries.
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