• How can we help relieve the nausea, vomiting and other side effects of chemotherapy?
Unfortunately, many cancer chemotherapy drugs cause nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, constipation, skin rashes, sore eyes and generally a lower resistance to infection. Physicians can offer other medications that will help the child tolerate some of these side effects. The medications themselves will often cause tiredness. Prompt attention should be given to the constipation caused by vincristine .
• What are the long-term effects of therapy?
A number of long-term effects of childhood cancer therapy are currently being studied. Radiation therapy to the brain may leave some children with certain deficits in intellectual or motor development, which is why psychometric testing is so important as part of the general treatment follow-up.
Some children may have growth problems. Some may have an organ abnormality because of the effects of radiation therapy or surgery. Rehabilitation may be necessary, such as a new bladder to urinate or an artificial limb. Some drugs also affect the way organs such as the lungs and heart work. Children with cancer may have to be followed for many years to discover whether some of the treatments used to cure the disease will result in organ problems later on in life.
