Chemotherapy, benefits and risks

Women undergoing chemotherapy to treat breast cancer have complained of various side effects, ranging from dizziness to hair loss.

Recent research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has identified eight serious side effects associated with chemotherapy.

Fever and infection are the main reasons someone visits the hospital. Other serious side effects are low white blood cell and platelet (platelet) counts and electrolyte disturbances that can lead to dehydration.

"Women must be aware of the negative side effects caused by chemotherapy, but on the other hand they should not decide not to do chemotherapy solely based on the conclusions of our study," said Dr. Michael Hassett, the leader of the research team who is also a medical advisor at Harvard Medical School.

Research conducted by Dr. This Hassett is indeed not a randomized controlled trial, namely a type of careful investigation that is needed to change clinical practice guidelines. However, several similar studies are currently underway, aimed at looking for various side effects associated with chemotherapy. Meanwhile, continuous improvement efforts have been made in the treatment of chemotherapy patients.

"Doctors have gone to great lengths to prevent some of the common side effects of chemotherapy, namely nausea," says Dr. Jennifer J. Grigg, a professor in the department of internal medicine who also serves as chair of the Breast Cancer Survivorship Program at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.

"After all, doctors also routinely give colony stimulating factors," added Dr. Griggs. "These injections increase the supply of white blood cells which are useful for fighting infection, and this method appears to reduce the risk of fever and other infections."

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning that it works throughout the body to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be done before surgery or radiation to reduce the size of the tumor, and can also be done afterwards to kill remaining cancer cells.

Besides its very effective benefits against the rapid growth of cancer cells, chemotherapy also affects normal cells, this is what causes side effects. Apart from nausea and hair loss, other common side effects are feeling tired (tired), vomiting, decreased blood cell count, sore mouth and pain. This is said by the US National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Hassett and his colleagues conducted a study to determine the number, causes, and costs caused by serious side effects of chemotherapy. They evaluated data on more than 12,000 women aged 63 and under who had been newly diagnosed with breast cancer. A total of 4,075 of them received chemotherapy.

They found that chemotherapy patients had a 61% chance of suffering from illness that required them to be hospitalized or outpatient, while those who did not receive chemotherapy only had a 42% chance. Chemotherapy patients also add an average cost of $1,271 per year to treat chemotherapy side effects.

Dr. Hassett suggests considering the benefits and side effects of chemotherapy before deciding to go through with it. Discussions with cancer specialists also need to be done.

[From pharmacist.info ]