What to Expect when You Go Through Chemotherapy

This is a difficult article to write. Chemotherapies are all different and people respond differently to the same chemotherapies. Using commonalities I have seen from others as well as myself undergoing treatments allowed enough similarities to compile a list.

Chemotherapy is the injection of medications via IV, port-a-catheter, or Hickman line that are intended to kill weakened cancer cells. In the process of killing those cells, chemotherapy kills noncancerous cells as well. An example of this is cells containing the hair follicles. The loss of those cells often leads to the loss of hair many chemotherapy patients are known for.

The biggest surprise for me when undergoing chemotherapy was the level of nausea I experienced. I underwent treatment in 1992-1993 and better anti-nausea meds are available now. My expectation was to feel like I had the flu for the duration of treatment. I did not expect to wake up the first night I was given Cisplatin and immediately vomit. As is the case with each person, my experience may have been different in part due to the loss of one of my kidneys and not being able to filter the medication through my body properly. My mother has experienced nausea but not yet to this extent. Different chemotherapy drugs cause different levels of nausea. My nausea was intense enough to drop my weight from 140 pounds in November to 89 pounds in February.

It took about two weeks after the first round of treatments for my hair to begin to fall out. Within three days, I had two small wisps of hair and the rest was gone. My mother is more than a month into treatments and has lost very little hair. A few friends of mine never lost their hair. Again, the loss of hair depends on the type of cancer treatment drug.

One commonality among almost all chemotherapy drugs is the causing of blood cell counts to drop. At one point, I had no white blood cells or platelets of which to speak. Doctors often give blood transfusions or an injection that helps build blood counts nowadays when this is the case. When counts are too low, chemotherapy is skipped until they go back up. My mother had to skip treatment last week due to low white blood cells. She goes to the doctor today to see if they are high enough to begin treatment again. Low blood counts make a person feel fatigued and generally awful. Also, it is recommended either the patient or those who visit the patient wear masks to prevent the spread of germs when white blood cell counts are low.

Another common problem when undergoing chemotherapy is a complete loss of appetite whether nausea is a problem or not. Doctors often prescribe Phenergan or Zofran to fight the nausea but sometimes steroids are needed to increase the appetite. I was never given steroids but my mother and some friends were. Several of my friends were given Prednisone and it caused them to gain weight and have moon shaped faces. This subsided after treatment. Steroids have been the only way my mother can eat anything. The loss of appetite and nausea are particularly bad because it becomes more difficult to hold down water and other fluids. Dehydration sets in and consumption of liquid becomes nearly impossible due to nausea. This cycle has placed more than one person who undergoes cancer treatment in the hospital. My mother was released from the hospital last week for this problem.

It may seem as though treatment makes a person sicker than cancer. If you undergo chemotherapy, you will likely feel this way at some point. It is important to keep in mind that regardless of the side effects, the medication is doing an important job. Rest when you can. Allow others to help you with what you have problems doing yourself. Feeling poorly from chemotherapy and cancer is something everyone given that diagnosis experiences. Focus your energies on beginning to feel better and let your loved ones show they care. The side effects end, your hair grows back, and take it from someone 17 years post treatment-the way you feel mostly goes back to normal.