Diseases Cancer

About the Side Effects Of Chemotherapy When Treating Breast Cancer

Published at 02/24/2012 19:32:41

Introduction

When undergoing chemotherapy breast cancer treatments, there are many different side effects that can happen to you depending on the type of chemo you are receiving. Some of these side effects can be mild, and some of them can become serious if you do not learn to combat them. If you let your doctor know what is going on, they can give you medications or ideas on what you can do to help.

History

Of course, the most common side effect from having chemotherapy breast cancer treatments is hair loss. While not every woman will lose their hair, it can become very sparse and thin. It can also become brittle and break very easily. After you are done with chemo treatments it can take three to six months for your hair to grow back. If you are worried about how you look being bald, you can go and have a wig made. Taking a picture of yourself with how you looked when you had hair can help a beautician make a wig that matches your hair. This would be a fun time to go for a completely new look. Another very common side effect is nausea. This can be eased by either eating smaller meals or by getting a pill from your doctor. There are many different medications on the market that can help with nausea. Anemia can also become a problem when undergoing chemo. It means that you have low iron in your blood. It can cause you to be cranky and bruise easily. Your doctor might tell you to take an iron supplement and also eat a variety of vitamin rich foods and foods that are high in vitamin B.

Features

Other side effects from chemotherapy breast cancer treatments would include mouth and throat sores, including thrush which is a yeast infection in the mouth. This can cause you to have an issue eating food that is spicy or acidic. Using cold yogurt to coat your mouth before you eat can help with the pain. If you think, you have a yeast infection, you need to talk to your doctor for medicine. If you have mouth and throat sores or cannot tell what food taste like, you will probably lose weight, and this is another common problem when getting chemotherapy breast cancer treatments. Another big issue that people have is getting diarrhea, which the doctor can give you medicine to help. Eating a clear soft liquid diet can help to lesson these symptoms. You should eat small meals; foods low in fiber and make sure that you drink water so you do not become dehydrated. You should also make sure that you are eating foods high in protein, and this will help you with weight loss as well.

Tips and comments

Most of these symptoms from chemotherapy breast cancer treatments will stop once the chemo treatments stop. You may have some of them stick around for a while after your last treatment. However, most will clear up once the medicine gets out of your body.

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