How long does chemo affect your body?

If you’re reading this, chances are high that either you or someone close to you has undergone chemotherapy. And if that’s the case (which I’m sure it is), congratulations on being a warrior in the fight against cancer! But now the question lingers – how long does chemo affect your body? Is there an end point when we get our good old self back? Read ahead to find out!

Understanding Chemotherapy

Before diving into how long its effects last, let’s take a minute to understand what chemotherapy actually is. In layman terms, chemo involves taking medication (including oral drugs and IV infusions) that kill fast-growing cells (like cancerous ones). However, since other healthy cells such as hair follicles and blood-forming ones also divide rapidly, they can be affected by regular doses of these medication too.

Short-term Side Effects

Short term side-effects encompass those reactions experienced during treatment itself or for up-to two weeks afterwards.

Nausea

The most common experience felt during/after chemotherapy sessions; nausea affects approximately 70% of individuals who undergo chemo (yikes!). Doctors prescribe anti-nausea agents before and after chemotherapy to combat this discomfort which usually fades off within a week after therapy stops.

Fatigue

It’s completely normal to feel exhausted especially just after starting your treatments wherein your body fights with not only cancer cell but also drugs infused into it. This could lead you spending all day in bed sleeping like any good sloth would do (woohoo!)

Hair loss

A dreaded side-effect due caused by the rapid division rate of hair follicle cells; leading them shutting down quickly than normal resulting in chemical-induced alopecia almost invariably seen

Type Rates
Alopecia starts Between days7-14 post-chemo
Peaks Between days 30-60 post-chemo
Recovery Within six to twelve months

Mouth sores

Also called mucositis, often plagues the soft and moist areas of your mouth like gums, cheeks, tongue etc. They can be quite painful; however, it usually fades away in eight weeks.

Long-term Side Effects

However much terrible you want chemotherapy to be done with, some effects linger long after treatment and might go on forever!

Peripheral neuropathy

Cancer patients who took Taxol/Platinol based drugs are more likely susceptible to this hindrance leading to tingling pain particularly that which radiates towards limbs common among diabetic individuals too

Prevention Methods

Here is an infographic showing strategies believed by healthcare providers

Peripheral Neuropathy

Heart damage

Chemo can also impact one’s heart health if the administered drug causes inflammation of the lining surrounding the organ (just when enough was done these chemicals mess up some innocent organs)#.

Prevention Strategies

Healthline documented below such measures

  • The administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or beta-blockers right from the start

  • Exercising moderately for at least 150 minutes per week would lead to better outcomes

Infertility or Early Menopause (Hmmm)

The possibility exists that chemotherapy medications could impair fertility by hampering sperms’ production ability in males while impacting eggs’ maturation in females additionally it’s not abnormal for breast cancer survivors under forty-five years experiencing menopausal symptoms.

This leads us back into what we’ve all been wondering…

So How Long Does Chemo Actually Affect Your Body?

As shared earlier chemo side-effects affect each person differently – both frequency and severity wise However:

  1. Most side effects manifest as soon as one is subjected to treatment and tend to last a couple of weeks following the end of therapy with most people recovering within three-six months post-treatment
  2. Long-standing or even permanent side effects – such as peripheral neuropathy or heart damage – have been popping up increasingly in researchers’ crosshairs.

Conclusion

Chemotherapy treatments no doubt wear one down but how long their symptoms persist, will likely differ from person to person based on factors ranging from genetics, age etcetera. However since they’ll eventually end, often regaining your strength isn’t far behind… all while looking in the mirror pleasantly surprised about that new (temporary) bald look!

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