What are the side effects of cancer treatment

By | January 2, 2012

Cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy, is used to destroy the body's cancer cells, cancer cells grow and divide faster than healthy cells, cancer treatment is to fast growth of the cells of these effects. Radiation and chemotherapy can affect some healthy, fast growing cells and cause side effects. The main side effects of cancer treatment are the following:
(1) the side effects of cancer treatment side effects of surgery: The goal of surgery is to maximize the possible removal of the tumor and surrounding tissue involvement. Thus, with a lot of destructive, can give different levels of trauma caused by the body. In addition to causing bleeding, postoperative pain and other general adverse reactions, mainly caused by surgery corresponding organ system dysfunction. For example, the digestive system surgery (stomach, esophagus, liver and gallbladder, membrane surgery, etc.) can lead to loss of appetite, difficulty swallowing, decreased appetite, indigestion and other side effects; facial surgery and radical surgery can affect the appearance of breast; reproductive system surgery can cause decreased sexual desire and infertility; surgery can cause urinary urgency, urinary frequency and dysuria; pituitary gland surgery and other endocrine disorders can produce; throat surgery can dysphonia; inconvenience caused by amputation, and so on.
(2) cancer treatment side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy side effects: radiotherapy and chemotherapy is the use of active proliferation of cancer cells sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation treatment this feature, so they play a therapeutic role, that the normal proliferation of relatively strong tissues or organs will be different degrees of damage. More frequently involved the digestive system, blood and urinary systems. Clinically, there may be nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation, impaired liver function, general malaise, fatigue, hematopoietic suppression (leukopenia, anemia and bleeding), renal dysfunction, hematuria, urinary frequency, urgency, dysuria and so on. In addition, the hair loss is a prominent side effect of chemotherapy.

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