You should approach chemotherapy with the knowledge that it is impossible to attack cancer cells with drugs without also affecting normal tissues. As mentioned earlier, the drugs are most effective against rapidly growing cells. Tumor cells grow rapidly. So do hair follicles, the bone marrow and the cells in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract— mouth, stomach and bowels.
There are basically two kinds of side effects of chemotherapy, immediate and chronic.
Immediate Side Effects These are mainly nausea and vomiting. Both can occur soon after treatment, but both usually go away fairly quickly. Fortunately, a number of very effective antinausea medications have been developed over the past few years. They are often given two, three or four at a time, sometimes intravenously, and can usually prevent major problems with both nausea and vomiting. Very often your doctor will have to
try different combinations of antinausea medications if the first combination isn't working as well as you
both would like.
Sometimes these nausea medications produce their own side effects, mainly sleepiness or general fatigue. But these minor effects are well worth the trade-off if you can avoid feeling sick. Treatment schedules can also be arranged so that the medication does not disrupt your life too severely. Chemotherapy may be given on a Friday, for example, so that any tiredness will wear off enough by the following Monday that you can return to work.
