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What are the cons of chemotherapy?
Here are some of the more common side effects caused by chemotherapy:
- Fatigue.
- Hair loss.
- Easy bruising and bleeding.
- Infection.
- Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Appetite changes.
- Constipation.
What are the positives and negatives of chemotherapy?
Like other cancer treatments, chemotherapy has benefits and risks. It can shrink breast tumors to the point where they’re easier to remove with surgery. It kills cancer cells all over your body, which is helpful if your cancer has spread. But it can cause unpleasant side effects like hair loss, nausea, and mouth sores.
Why you should not do chemotherapy?
What are the risks of chemotherapy? While chemotherapy may kill rapidly growing cancer cells, the downside is that it may also damage healthy cells in the process. This is often the cause of some common side effects of chemotherapy.
Is chemotherapy worth having?
Suffering through cancer chemotherapy is worth it — when it helps patients live longer. But many patients end up with no real benefit from enduring chemo after surgical removal of a tumor. Going in, it’s been hard to predict how much chemo will help prevent tumor recurrence or improve survival chances.
Why is chemo so effective?
It usually works by keeping the cancer cells from growing, dividing, and making more cells. Because cancer cells usually grow and divide faster than normal cells, chemotherapy has more of an effect on cancer cells. However, the drugs used for chemotherapy are powerful, and they can still cause damage to healthy cells.
What are the chances of dying from chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy causes death in more than 25\% of cancer patients – PharmaTimes.
Will chemo shorten my life?
During the 3 decades, the proportion of survivors treated with chemotherapy alone increased (from 18\% in 1970-1979 to 54\% in 1990-1999), and the life expectancy gap in this chemotherapy-alone group decreased from 11.0 years (95\% UI, 9.0-13.1 years) to 6.0 years (95\% UI, 4.5-7.6 years).
What are the reasons for needing chemotherapy?
lower the total number of cancer cells in your body
What are the dangers of chemotherapy?
Chemo may damage your kidneys, liver, heart, or other organs. You may have an allergic reaction to chemo. This may become life-threatening. Your risk for infection and bleeding are increased during chemo treatment. You may have problems getting pregnant or getting your partner pregnant after you have chemo.
What are the disadvantages of chemotherapy?
The development of treatment related side effects are the most significant disadvantage of chemotherapy.
How bad is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy drugs may cause problems with memory, or make it difficult to concentrate or think clearly. This symptom sometimes is called “chemo fog,” or “chemo brain.” This mild cognitive impairment may go away following treatment or may linger for years. Severe cases can even add to existing anxiety and stress.