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Nausea:
Nausea, vomiting and other types of stomach upset are common side
effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. |
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Get plenty of rest (some anti-nausea
drugs are actually designed to make you sleepy, so you can rest more
easily). |
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Relax and try to distract
yourself with television, radio, or other activities you enjoy. |
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Wear loose-fitting clothing
that won't bind or add stress to your body. |
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Rinse your mouth out often
(to eliminate the bad taste and
avoid strong foods or odors, which can bring on nausea. |
About an hour
after you have been sick, try taking small sips of fluids or sucking
on chips of ice, put some mild foods back into your stomach, such
as crackers or toast, having another person stay with you to give
you the gentle encouragement you need to relax and help your stomach
settle down.
Fatigue and anemia: Fatigue is common for cancer
patients. Your fatigue may be chronic - that is, it won't go away
and limit your activity. There may be weakness, exhaustion, leg pain,
difficulty in climbing stairs or walking short distances, and shortness
of breath after only light activity. Fatigue can also affect you mentally,
making it hard for you to concentrate and easy for you to lose your
patience or interest in your hobbies or pastimes.
Chemotherapy typically lowers the number of red cells in your blood
(anemia) which carry oxygen throughout your body and give you energy.
Since chemotherapy can disrupt your eating and sleeping habits, it
will further contribute to your fatigue.
To lessen fatigue: |
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Take short naps or breaks. |
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Plan your day with frequent
breaks for rest. |
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Short walks or light exercise
may help decrease the feeling of fatigue. |
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Try easier or shorter versions
of the activities you enjoy. |
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Cultivate interests that are
less strenuous, like reading or listening to music. |
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Eat as well as you can and
drink plenty of fluids. |
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Save your energy for the things
you find most important, and ask family and friends to help you with
more difficult or taxing tasks. |
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Keep a diary of how you feel
each day. This will help you plan your daily activities, and it will
help your medical team regulate any anti-fatigue medication you may
be taking. |
Fever
and infection: Because cancer treatments are so powerful, they
almost always greatly reduce the level of white blood cells in your
body which are the natural defense against infection. The risk of
infection is much greater. A fever is a sign that your body has developed
an infection. A very high fever can be dangerous and should be attended
to immediately since it can lead to dehydration and seizures. Other
symptoms of an infection are swelling, redness, and pain.
Most often, doctors treat the fever and the cause of the infection
at the same time. A common course is to combine anti-fever drugs with
antibiotics
and other medicines to help replenish your body's white blood cells.
Make sure that when you first notice one or more of these symptoms,
you immediately contact your doctor and follow the prescribed treatment.
Hair loss Anywhere from seven to 21 days after
beginning chemotherapy treatment, many people experience rapid and
often total hair loss.
Hair loss is usually temporary and takes from six to 12 months to
begin growing back.
Growth of the hair takes place in the hair follicles
or roots. New hair cells form by division of cells in the follicle.
The hair cells are joined together in long chains. The hair cells
produce the protein keratin, which accumulates
inside the cells. The hair cells eventually die leaving packets of
the hard keratin linked together forming the hair. The newly forming
cells in the follicle push the dead, keratin-containing cells ahead
and so the hair grows.
Growth in the hair follicle follows a pattern or cycle. The cells
divide and build the hair shaft for a period and the follicle then
rests. The growing cells of the hair follicle are affected by the
treatments for cancer.
Chemotherapy unfortunately does not distinguish between rapidly reproducing
normal cells and abnormal cancerous cells. At any one time, about
85 per cent of the hair follicles on the scalp are actively dividing.
Treatment that interferes with cancer cells is also likely to affect
hair growth.
Not all chemotherapy drugs affect the hair. The amount of hair that
is lost depends on the drug or combination of drugs, the dose and
your own individual reaction to the drug. Hair loss may be so slight
as to be hardly noticeable and sometimes it is apparent as an overall
thinning of the hair. Unfortunately with some of the drugs most or
all hair will fall out.
Hair can be lost from the scalp and also the eyebrows, eyelashes and
the moustache and beard areas in men. Hair from the armpits, chest
and pubic areas may be lost as well. The first thing you may be aware
of is that you lose hair when it is brushed, combed or washed. When
you wake in the morning, you may notice hair on your pillow and sheets.
Hair loss may occur at any time during treatment but is more likely
to happen within the first few weeks.
Hair loss is temporary in most cases. After chemotherapy, your hair
will regrow and this may happen even before your treatment has been
completed. Most often, the first soft hairs reappear within a month
or six weeks of stopping treatment and you can expect to have a reasonable
head of hair three to six months later. Some changes may happen in
your hair when it grows back. It may be little more curly, thicker
or finer than it was before, or it may grow back a slightly different
colour.
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