Lifting the Mask of Chemotherapy

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a special type of medicine used to treat cancer. It works by interfering with the division of rapidly dividing cells in your body. • Cancer cells are one type of cells that divide rapidly, but not the only kind. Other cells in your body also divide rapidly, which is why some body parts are more affected by chemotherapy than others, ie the mouth, digestive system, blood, and hair follicles (the place in the scalp where hair grows from), blood-forming cells in the bone marrow, and reproductive system. Cancer begins when something happens to a cell’s normal DNA which causes its genes to change. DNA is like a master file. It produces the same result every time. In other words, it reproduces the same cell every time. Cancer cells begin as normal cells, but something happens to their DNA and their master file is not the same as normal cells anymore. Instead, these cancer cells now have a master file that is different from the genes of normal cells. (Read: Stepping into the Unfamiliar World of Cancer)

How does chemotherapy work?

To explain how chemotherapy works, let me first give you a very basic and simplified physiology lesson.

Cells divide to replace those that are old and dead, but they also divide to grow new tissue.

Say for instance that you fall and skin your knee. Your body quickly forms a scab over the abrasion to protect the wound. But your body also immediately begins to repair the damaged area by making new skin where you skinned your knee. Your body does this by causing the skin cells to divide at a more rapid pace and replace the patch of skin that was injured. Once the area has been repaired, the skin cells go back to dividing at their normal rate to replace those that are old and have served their purpose. Also, the body speeds up making new sin cells only where they are needed, on your knee, and not throughout your entire body.

Cells in our body are constantly dividing. Some divide rapidly, like skin cells, while others divide more slowly, like bone cells.

Cancer cells on the other hand act differently from normal body cells. They divide rapidly, but they don’t stop when there are enough of them. It’s like they have their foot on the gas pedal and won’t let up. They continue to multiply and form a tumor. Or with blood cancer, instead of forming a tumor, the cancer cells make abnormal blood cells.

Why do I need chemotherapy?

Your doctor will give you chemotherapy to stop cancer cells from multiplying.

Cancer cells cause problems because they interfere with the normal function of cells and organs in your body. If cancer cells are not stopped, they will overrun the body’s normal organ function.

Once cancer cells get “turned on”, they do not turn themselves off. Chemotherapy interferes with the cancer cells' division, which prevents them from duplicating and forming a tumor or making a tumor that is already present even larger. When a tumor can no longer grow, the chemotherapy continues to interfere with the cancer cells, and the tumor will begin to shrink.

How is chemotherapy given?

Chemotherapy can be given in several different ways including:

·         Intravenously (IV), which is the most common way. When giving you intravenous chemotherapy, your nurse will insert a needle into your vein or a port in your chest

·         By mouth (oral) by taking a pill or capsule

·         By injection (a shot)

·         On the skin (topical) by rubbing a cream or gel onto your skin for certain cancers

·         Inserted in an organ like the bladder

IV chemotherapy is given in “rounds”. A round of chemo is the day you receive the chemotherapy and the days between treatments until your next chemotherapy session. For instance, if you get chemotherapy once every two weeks, then a round of chemo for you would be two weeks. Your doctor will tell you how many rounds of chemo you will need to receive.

Where will I go to get chemotherapy?

This depends on what kind of chemotherapy you are receiving. Chemo can be given:

·         In an outpatient chemo center or clinic

·         In the hospital

·         In surgery

·         In your home

What can I expect while receiving chemotherapy treatments?

Pre-treatment meds:

For IV chemo, you may need to take medications for a day or so before your chemotherapy treatment. These pre-treatment meds help reduce the side effects of chemo.

Side effects include:

·         Tiredness/fatigue

·         Weakness

·         Sleeping problems

·         Nausea/vomiting

·         Loss of appetite

·         Change in sense of taste

·         Sore mouth

·         Dry mouth

·         Diarrhea/constipation

·         Anemia/thrombocytopenia

·         Bruising/bleeding

·         Diminished immune system

·         Infections

·         Hair loss

·         Skin/nails changes

·         Nerve damage

·         Muscle/joint pain

·         Heart problems

·         Balance problems

·         Memory/concentration problems

·         Emotional issues

Monitor labs:

You will get labs drawn frequently, usually before each chemo treatment. Your oncologist will monitor your labs for things like infection and anemia.

Scans:

Your oncologist will have you get scans done periodically to monitor the effects of chemo on the tumor or blood cancer.

Is there anything special I need to do while going through chemo?

Food prep:

To avoid foodborne infections from food, you will need to take some precautions. Fresh fruit and vegetables should be soaked in a solution of white vinegar and water for about 15 minutes before you cut them. This helps eliminate spores on the food that your weakened immune system may not be able to defend against. This also helps the product last longer before spoiling.

Avoid crowds:

If your immune system is diminished, you may be instructed to avoid crowds. This will prevent you from being exposed to germs that your body cannot fight off at this time.

Energy levels:

Chemotherapy is very taxing on the body. Your stamina may not be what it usually is, therefore, you will need to rest more often.

Besides taking naps during the day, you can preserve your energy by dividing tasks into small segments and then resting.

Also, group like tasks together. For instance, if you need to take something upstairs, look around to see if you need to take anything upstairs as well to prevent you from having to make another trip.

New symptoms:

Report any new or concerning symptoms to your oncologist right away.

Keep all your appointments:

Chemotherapy is a very regimented treatment. It must be given at regular intervals to be most effective. Of course, emergencies arise. If you cannot keep your appointment, let your provider know right away so your treatment can be quickly rescheduled.

My personal experience with chemotherapy:

Why do I need chemotherapy?

I needed chemotherapy to shrink the tumor in my right breast. Since the tumor was reduced in size, my surgeon was able to take less of the surrounding tissue when he did my double mastectomy.

How is chemotherapy given?                                                                        

I received chemotherapy through a chemo port in my chest once every two weeks. I was supposed to get eight rounds of chemo, but I only got seven. (Read: The Day I Met Cancer in the Mirror)

Where will I go to get chemotherapy?                                                       

I went to a cancer clinic to get chemotherapy.

What can I expect while receiving chemotherapy treatments?

Pre-treatment meds:

I had to take a steroid, Benadryl, and Aleve the day before my chemo treatments, the day of, and the day after to help reduce the side effects of chemo.

Side effects include:

I experienced quite a few side effects including:

·         Tiredness/fatigue

·         Weakness

·         Sleeping problems

·         Nausea

·         Loss of appetite

·         Change in sense of taste

·         Dry mouth

·         Diminished immune system

·         Hair loss

·         Nail changes

·         Nerve damage

·         Balance problems

·         Memory/concentration problems

·         Hot flashes

·         Excessive tearing

·         Weight gain due to steroids

·         Lightheadedness

·         Rapid heart rate

Monitor labs:

I had labs drawn before each chemo session to make sure that my white blood cell count and hemoglobin were high enough to receive treatment. (Read: Is There a Cancer Test?)

Is there anything special I need to do while going through chemo?

Food prep:

I was told that I should not eat fresh fruits or vegetables if I went out to eat because restaurants do not prepare fresh produce the way I explained above. This was a challenge at times. Like, if I got a burger it had to be without lettuce, tomatoes, or onions.

Avoid crowds:

This only presented a real problem one time. My white blood cell count was low which made me prone to picking up infections more easily. But, my friend Amanda, her sister, and I had made plans to go to a craft show that Saturday.

I was devastated when my chemo nurse said that I should not go.

I decided to go to the show anyway. My whole reason for going through chemo in the first place was so I could get back to doing the things I wanted to do. Was this the wisest idea? Probably not. I was fortunate not to get sick, and I had a great time with the girls.

This was before Amanda also got breast cancer. Once she did, I was even more grateful that I decided to go to the show, because now I have this wonderful memory of the time we spent together. . (Read: The Day Cancer Turned Pink...Again)

Energy levels:

My energy levels were definitely decreased. I ended up being off work for nearly a year while I went through treatments. I was fortunate to have a very supportive group of heroes to help me, especially my husband.

New symptoms:

I didn’t develop any new symptoms that were not related to the side effects of chemo.

Keep all your appointments:

I kept all my treatment and checkup appointments. I also went back to the clinic the day after my chemo session to receive an injection to prevent my white blood cells from dropping too low.

Scans:

After I completed chemotherapy, I had another PET scan done to make sure there was no new cancer anywhere in my body.

Please know that I am not relating the problems I suffered while going through chemotherapy to get pity from anyone. If anything, I am rejoicing that I no longer have cancer because of the chemo treatments I received.

No. I am sharing my experience with you in the hopes that you will have some idea of what to expect while you, or your loved one, go through chemotherapy.

Go to here to get more information on chemotherapy.

Please comment below on how this article has helped you better understand chemotherapy and what to expect.

Wishing you all the best,

Kelly

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Yes, I am a nurse. No, I am not your nurse. The medical topics discussed in this, or any article on this site, are intended to be issues for you to discuss with your medical team if you feel they apply to you. None of the information you are about to read in this article is treatment advice for you from me. I do not have that authority.