Chemotherapy as the drug-based cancer treatment involves the elimination of the disease by stopping cancer cells from division. Cancer cells divide at an accelerated rate and therefore need to be attacked powerfully in order to stop the invasion. Unfortunately, chemotherapy damages cells with a rapid division speed normally encountered with many body functions; the bone marrow, the hair follicles and the digestive tract will be the most affected. Hence, the chemotherapy effects usually damage these areas. The most frequent side effects that become manifest during and after chemotherapy include hair loss, the inflammation of the soft membranes in the digestive tract or mucositis and the decrease of the blood cells production, called myelosupression. Chemotherapy effects or side effects can be divided into two major groups as short and long term. Negative reactions to the treatment are normal, given the fact that powerful chemicals do disturb the functions of the system. It is not difficult to confuse drug side effects with cancer symptoms. Symptoms characterize the disease in fact, while the side effects consist of natural adverse reactions to a powerful external invasion in the body. Anyway, various chemotherapy drugs have different short term and long term side effects; not all chemotherapy drugs lead to every side effect. Generally speaking, chemotherapy affects those cells that divide at a quicker pace. The mouth, intestines, skin, hair, bone marrow (the spongy material that fills your bones and produces new blood cells) are mainly affected by chemotherapy. If the skin renews itself constantly, the hair grows permanently and the lining of the mouth and digestive system have the same dynamics, then, the cells of all these body tissues must constantly divide to produce a steady supply of new cells. And, unfortunately, when cells are dividing, chemotherapy drugs attack them. It is known that most drugs used in chemotherapy have side effects, yet, not all the patients get the same chemotherapy effects. The intensity of the experience, and their evolution during the treatment depend on many various factors. These elements include the period of drug administration, the concentration of the drug, how the drug is administered, the patient’s overall health condition, as well as the combined use of chemotherapy medication and other remedies. Some chemotherapy effects represent serious medical conditions which must be dealt with; others, although bothersome, are not necessarily a major threat to the patient’s health. It is also relevant to discuss the effects of chemotherapy with the doctor and the contact person at the treating center where the patient is given the treatment.
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Chemotherapy effects or side effects can classified according to the extent of the adverse reactions into long and short term categories. Side effects of chemotherapy represent unwanted symptoms which occur as a direct result of taking a drug.
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