Constipation is a common side effect of chemotherapy or other medications prescribed during cancer treatment. Constipation is defined as having hard or infrequent stools or difficulty in having a bowel movement. Tom Merton / Getty Images.
These can include abdominal cramping, a sense of fullness in the abdomen, rectal pain, and of course, you may notice that you haven't had a bowel movement for 2 or 3 days if you are usually regular. 1 The symptoms, however, are not always obvious to those going through chemotherapy ...
1 Examples include Chronulac (lactulose), glycerin suppositories, Miralax (polyethylene glycol), magnesium citrate and Milk of Magnesia (magnesium hydroxide).
With some chemotherapy regimens, the combination of drugs, especially drugs to prevent nausea, are very constipating, and your oncologist may recommend using medications for constipation preventively. Make sure to do so, as it is easier to prevent than treat severe constipation.
A: We hear from many patients that the time after completing active cancer treatment is a time when they feel ‘unsettled’ and worry about an uncertain future. Some may even feel anxious about the possibility that the cancer could return and worry they may not be doing enough to catch any signs early enough.
A: These include worries about cancer recurrence, one's identity and future, and dying young or leaving things undone. Some patients may also suffer from poor body image or low self-esteem because of the treatment they received and changes it caused. They often need help to learn to accept their new body.
A: The first step is to recognize one’s fears and worries. The next step is to find a way of dealing with these worries. Information and education are essential to regain some control. Sharing one’s fears and worries with loved ones, a support group, or seeking professional help can and will bring relief.
A: These last few appointments should be structured to allow time to review the full cancer treatment received and to discuss what comes next. Needs of individual patients vary considerably.
A: Survivors can ask their oncologist for an end of treatment summary that outlines the original diagnosis, including the cancer type, stage, and the treatments received. These details will be important to future health care providers throughout their lifetime.
A: I am often impressed by the enormous expressions of gratitude I hear from cancer survivors. Many patients speak of feeling moved by expressions of kindness they received from people they barely knew and how much these moments of compassion sustained them during difficult times.
Chemotherapy works best on cells that are actively growing and dividing. Cancer cells tend to grow and divide quickly so this makes them good targets for chemotherapy. But chemotherapy can’t tell the difference between cancer cells and normal cells.
Chemotherapy may be used alone to treat cancer or with other treatments such as surgery or radiation therapy. It may be used before surgery to shrink a tumour or after surgery to destroy any cancer cells that remain and to prevent the cancer from coming back.
Chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer are prescribed by a medical oncologist Close medical oncologist A medical oncologist treats cancer using drugs and is often the main doctor for someone with cancer. They are often the ones that will make a cancer diagnosis based on the results of tests that you had.
Chemotherapy and other drugs used to treat cancer may not kill all the cancer cells the first time they are given. Some cancer cells may survive and continue to grow. Chemotherapy and other drugs are given according to a plan or schedule designed to kill as many cancer cells as possible.
The length, timing and number of cycles of chemotherapy or other drugs depends on the combination of drugs used and the type of cancer. The medical oncologist usually sets the schedule when treatment starts. The schedule may also be decided later, based on how well the drug is working and how the body tolerates it.
There are many chemotherapy drugs that are grouped into classes depending on how they work. Combining chemotherapy drugs from different classes can make the treatment work better because the different drugs attack cancer cells at different points in their growth cycle.
Your chemotherapy treatment will be planned by a medical oncologist, a cancer specialist who oversees drug therapies. They work with other members of the healthcare team to plan and deliver treatments.
For women with TNBC who have a BRCA mutation and whose cancer no longer responds to common breast cancer chemo drugs, other chemo drugs called platinum drugs (like cisplatin or carboplatin) or targeted drugs called PARP inhibitors, such as olaparib (Lynparza) or talazoparib (Talzenna), may be considered. For advanced TNBC in which the cancer cells ...
If cancer is still found after neoadjuvant chemo has been given, your doctor may recommend you take an oral chemo drug called capecitabine for 18 to 24 weeks.
For advanced TNBC in which the cancer cells have the PD-L1 protein, the first treatment may be immunotherapy plus chemo (either atezolizumab along with albumin-bound paclitaxel, or pembrolizumab and chemotherapy). The PD-L1 protein is found in about 1 out of 5 TNBCs.
Stage IV triple-negative breast cancer. Chemo is often used first when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (stage IV). Common chemo drugs used include anthracyclines, taxanes, capecitabine, gemcitabine, eribulin, and others.
In certain cases, such as with a large tumor or if the lymph nodes are found to have cancer, radiation may follow surgery. Because hormone therapy and HER2 drugs are not good options for women with TNBC, chemotherapy is the main systemic option.
Regardless of the stage of the cancer, participation in a clinical trial of new treatments for TNBC is also a good option because TNBC is uncommon and tends to have a poor prognosis (outcome) compared to other types of breast cancer, and because these studies often allow patients to have access to drugs not available for standard treatment.
There, while you recline in a lounge chair, a nurse will put the chemotherapy through the infusion port. Depending on the type of drug you take , sessions usually last a few hours. Others may last a day or more, with breaks every so often. You can keep working during treatment, but you may be too tired or nauseated.
Each set of doses is called a cycle. You may need four to eight cycles to treat your cancer. A series of cycles is called a course.
Chemotherapy is a common treatment for all kinds of cancer. The drugs shrink or kill your cancer cells so they can’t grow or spread to your other organs. There are many types of chemo drugs and different ways you can take them.
Pumps. These devices control how much of the drug you’re getting. They’re attached to either ports or catheters, and can be either outside or inside your body. You can carry an external pump around with you during the weeks you’re having treatment.