Chemotherapy is one of the main methods of cancer treatment, but the specific situation of each person during chemotherapy is different, and the effects and side effects are different. Some people have serious reactions after chemotherapy and have multiple side effects at the same time; some people are mild; some people may not have any reaction. What is the reason?
First of all, let’s look at chemotherapy has a relatively large effect on some cancers, such as the common lymphoma , blood diseases and some reproductive system tumors. Chemotherapy can often achieve unexpected results for some cancers with high chemotherapy sensitivity. For example, in the treatment of solid tumors such as choroid carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, , the chemotherapy efficiency can reach more than 80%. But under its obvious effect, there are obvious side effects, which is clear to everyone. Common toxic and side effects caused by chemotherapy include bone marrow suppression, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, numbness of hands and feet, liver and kidney function damage, etc.
Specifically, the following situations often occur with chemotherapy: 1. Physical weakness: weakness, mental depression, sweating, and drowsiness. 2. Decreased immune function: Chemotherapy drugs can damage the patient's immune system. 3. Myelosuppression: manifested as a decrease in leukocyte and platelets, and even a decrease in erythrocyte and hemoglobin . 4. Digestive disorders: decreased appetite, decreased diet, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, etc. 5. Inflammatory reactions: fever, dizziness, headache, dry mouth , mouth and tongue sores , etc. 6. Cardiac toxicity: The patient has symptoms such as palpitations, palpitations, , chest tightness, , precordial discomfort, shortness of breath, and even heart failure . 7. Renal toxicity: Some chemotherapy drugs large doses can cause kidney damage and low back pain and kidney discomfort.
The specific situation of each person is different, so the effects and degree of side effects during chemotherapy are also different. Some people have serious reactions after chemotherapy and have multiple side effects at the same time. Some people are milder, and some may not have any reaction. Moreover, there is another very important point: the chemotherapy response is mainly caused by chemotherapy drugs killing normal cellular tissues in the human body, and the efficacy is mainly determined by the killing ability of chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells. There is no causal relationship between the two. Therefore, the efficacy cannot be judged based on the response of chemotherapy, and the efficacy must be determined based on the results after professional examinations.
side reactions of chemotherapy are also related to the intensity of the drug dose, course of treatment, and method of medication. There are still some differences in the specific amount of drug dosage. The side reaction of and may be different. The longer the medication is used, the more obvious the side reactions are. The toxic and side effects of chemotherapy should be smaller than those of intravenous chemotherapy.
Some of the side effects of chemotherapy can be relieved by themselves, and many of them need to be relieved through treatment. When some patients are preparing to use traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy, they have a question, that is, can traditional Chinese medicine and chemotherapy be performed at the same time? Will there be conflicts? Will it affect the effect of chemotherapy? In fact, over the years, a large number of clinical practices have told us that there is no conflict between traditional Chinese medicine and chemotherapy, and traditional Chinese medicine treatment should run through the entire process of chemotherapy.
Taking Chinese medicine before chemotherapy can effectively improve the patient's weak constitution after surgery and create conditions for chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, it can attenuate chemotherapy and increase efficacy, alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy. The toxic side effects of chemotherapy often make tumor patients unable to withstand continuous treatment, so an intermittent period should be set during the treatment process to wait for the body to recover. At present, during the two chemotherapy intervals, Western medicine mostly just waits for the recovery of white blood cells and liver function, or uses some whitening agents to make this period a blank period of treatment.
In fact, treatment during this period is very important. Because the decline in overall immune function during chemotherapy is an inevitable result, the more times of chemotherapy, the greater the dose of drugs, the greater the toxicity (or damage), the lower the immune function and the overall body state, the less it is, the less it cannot regulate the proliferation of cancer cells, and it is difficult to prevent metastasis and recurrence.During the interval between radiotherapy and chemotherapy, patients can use traditional Chinese medicine to regulate under the guidance of a doctor, grasping the three major links of inhibiting tumors, enhancing immunity and eliminating the toxic and side effects caused by chemotherapy. It not only ensures the smooth progress of chemotherapy, but also greatly reduces the possibility of tumor recurrence and metastasis. At the same time, after the chemotherapy is over, taking Chinese medicine can continue to improve the patient's physical fitness as a whole, enhance immunity, and achieve the purpose of preventing recurrence and metastasis.
