Chemotherapy strains the body and demands that the patient have a strong stomach, heart, liver, and kidneys. These organs are essential to help the patient absorb, circulate, and then eliminate these chemicals from the body. For many patients, reduced white cell counts, red blood cell counts and reduced platelets can all be evidence of systemic side-effects.
Continued Care: Going Beyond Mesothelioma Treatments
A misconception among cancer patients is that, when undergoing treatment, they should only need to see their medical oncologist or surgeon. When receiving chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma and other forms of cancer, patients will still require an internist to maintain their regularly scheduled yearly interventions. Flu and pneumonia vaccines continue to be recommended on the suggested schedule. Also recommended are screenings for second malignancy in commonly reported cancers like breast, colon, prostate and lung i.e., including physical exams, colonoscopy, mammography and fecal occult stool testing. Patients are surviving longer with mesothelioma so keeping up with your general health is important.
Managing the Side-Effects of Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma
Drugs to help manage side-effects from chemotherapy are effective and continue to be improved. Chemotherapy attacks the fastest growing cells in the body so normal cells can also be affected. Frequent monitoring of the blood counts should be performed, and in some cases growth factors are initiated to stimulate the production of red blood cells and white blood cells. These can diminish fatigue associated with anemia and lower the risk for infection while on systemic treatment. Targeted therapies can be associated with skin rashes, elevated blood pressure and fatigue. Medications can be prescribed to control for these systemic symptoms.
Maintaining awareness of the possible side-effects can help you or your loved one prepare for chemotherapy and other mesothelioma treatments. Contact the Mesothelioma Applied Reseach Foundation for more information, news and support.
