Most chemotherapy side effects go away in time, but some can linger and require monitoring or treatment. Possible long-term side effects of chemo include damage to your heart and peripheral neuropathy, in which damaged nerves can cause pain, weakness or numbness in the extremities – arms, hands, legs and feet.
When treatment ends, you may expect life to return to the way it was before you were diagnosed with cancer. But it can take time to recover. You may have permanent scars on your body, or you may not be able to do some things you once did easily. Or you may even have emotional scars from going through so much.
For example, some types of chemotherapy may cause permanent damage to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, or reproductive system. And some people have trouble with thinking, concentrating, and memory for months or years after treatment. Cancer survivors also have a higher risk of second cancers later in life.
If there's a high likelihood that chemotherapy may get rid of your cancer, that benefit may outweigh possible side effects. Some patients say they actually feel better and have more energy soon after starting chemotherapy because the symptoms of their cancer regress.
Recurrent cancer may be more aggressive than the original cancer if it's already spread to other parts of the body or if it's become resistant to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The sooner the cancer returns, the biology of the tumor tends to be more aggressive.
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).
In some cases, long-term chemotherapy side effects may not occur until months or years after treatment. Some chemotherapy complications may be permanent, while others may subside with time. Doctors may recommend treatments to help manage complications and discuss the risk of permanent complications.
For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.
Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.
Chemotherapy drugs target cancer cells which stop or slow their growth. A person undergoing chemotherapy should avoid eating undercooked or raw food, interacting with actively infectious people, overexerting themselves, and consuming too much alcohol.
Remember – the changes to your sex life don't usually last long. There's usually no medical reason to stop having sex during chemo. The drugs won't have any long term physical effects on your performance or enjoyment of sex. Cancer can't be passed on to your partner during sex.
Some people find they can lead an almost normal life during chemotherapy. But others find everyday life more difficult. You may feel unwell during and shortly after each treatment but recover quickly between treatments. You may be able to get back to your usual activities as you begin to feel better.
On average, chemotherapy accelerated aging by approximately 17 years of life span, with acceleration of 23 to 27 years for those treated with anthracycline-based treatment.
Based on the overall cohort, that included 905 chemotherapy-exposed vs 3390 chemotherapy-naïve patients, overall survival rates at 18 and 30 months were 76.3 vs 69.3% and 61.6 vs 54.3%, favoring chemotherapy-exposed patients ( Figure 1A ).
Does Radiation Oncology Have Fewer Side Effects Compared to Chemotherapy? Radiation oncology and chemotherapy are both effective cancer treatments; however, they are different in many ways. Radiation oncology is localized: it targets only the affected area of the body, and therefore, tends to have fewer side effects.
Which Type of Cancer Spreads the Fastest? The fastest-moving cancers are pancreatic, brain, esophageal, liver, and skin. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer because it's fast-moving and there's no method of early detection.
These days, doctors are able to cure many cancers. But some cancers can come back many years after treatment. So you may find that your doctor is very unwilling to use the word 'cure', even though there is no sign that you have any cancer left. Doctors usually say that your cancer is in remission.
In other words, the 5-year survival rate doesn't tell a person with cancer much about their future. The 5-year survival rate is a percentage indicating the proportion of people with a particular disease that will be alive after five years. No, it doesn't mean you have five years to live.
Cancer survival rates often use a five-year survival rate. That doesn't mean cancer can't recur beyond five years. Certain cancers can recur many years after first being found and treated. For some cancers, if it has not recurred by five years after initial diagnosis, the chance of a later recurrence is very small.
During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next.