What happens in chemotherapy and why does it make people tired?

Answer 1

Chemotherapy is the use of chemicals to treat cancer. Usually more than one chemical is used and treatment is cyclical over a period of time to correspond with the cycle of cell division.
The chemicals kill fast-growing cells including hair, bone marrow, digestive tract, and others and it is in these areas that side effects usually occur.

Side effects of chemotherapy can range from mild to extreme.

Almost everyone undergoing chemotherapy has some hair loss. Some may choose to wear wigs or other headcoverings during treatment, but if you’re comfortable without hair that’s OK, too!

Many people experience nausea, fatigue, sleeplessness, periods of hyperactivity, irritability, and/or depression. If the symptoms interfere with your quality of life alert your medical team. They can help.

Premenopausal women may experience premature menopause symptoms as a side effect. Talk with your oncologist and your OB/GYN.

Your immune system is dependent on your bone marrow cells and they will be affected by chemotherapy. Your immune system will be depressed during and after chemotherapy and you should take prudent precautions.

Women may find themselves particularly susceptible to vaginal and urinary tract infections during chemotherapy. Talk with your doctor about prophylactic medications. Read about sex and cancer.

Chemotherapy is usually administered in a doctor’s office or clinic. The most common method is through an IV, however, long-term chemotherapy sometimes requires the insertion of a "port" or "heplock" which remains in your body for the duration of your treatments

Answer 2

i just got done with 8 months of chemo then on a chemo called hercepton..they take you in a small room they weigh you take your blood pressure tempture and ask you a bunch of questions . then they give the chemo in your vien. then you go home.Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy; this means it affects the whole body by going through the bloodstream. The purpose of chemotherapy and other systemic treatments is to get rid of any cancer cells that may have spread from where the cancer started to another part of the body..Chemotherapy is effective against cancer cells because the drugs love to interfere with rapidly dividing cells. The side effects of chemotherapy come about because cancer cells aren't the only rapidly dividing cells in your body. The cells in your blood, mouth, intestinal tract, nose, nails, vagina, and hair are also undergoing constant, rapid division. This means that the chemotherapy is going to affect them, too.

Still, chemotherapy is much easier to tolerate today than even a few years ago. And for many women it's an important "insurance policy" against cancer recurrence. It's also important to remember that organs in which the cells do not divide rapidly, such as the liver and kidneys, are rarely affected by chemotherapy. And doctors and nurses will keep close track of side effects and can treat most of them to improve the way you feel.

Answer 3

There are different drugs used for chemotherapy that do different things. In general, the idea is to target the cancer cells specifically. Unfortunately, it's really hard to JUST kill the cancer cells and not your normal cells. When this happens, your body needs to regenerate the normal cells.
The chemotherapy that usually makes people really tired targets the rapidly dividing cells which is a property of cancer cells, but also your blood cell, skin and hair. That's why people's hair fall. You can see that. What you don't see and therefore is not so obvious is your blood cells die too. Your body will make some more, but in the mean time, your ability to fight diseases and take oxygen around your body is decreased.

Answer 4

"Chemo" is basically poison. Cancer cells are not as strong as most normal cells, so the idea is to use just enough poison to kill the cancer. Years ago, they just used a low dose left it in the patient. Most modern chemotherapy utilizes a higher dose, but requires that an antidote be administered after a set period of time.

In practice, some healthy cells including red blood cells are lost, and that is what makes people tired. (And causes their hair to fall out.)

Answer 5

They give you drugs depending on the type of cancer. Some intravenous some by mouth or injection, some topical. Not all Chemo makes you tired or your hair fall out. But it basically sucks but not usually as bad as you imagined it would.

Answer 6

chemo makes you tired because your blood count drops - you get anemic and it feels like someone is standing on your chest. they have drugs to help and it usually happens in cycles.

Answer 7

well it is a chemical that is used as a last resort to kill a disease so I guess that would make anyone tired

Answer 8

chemo zaps the whole body, only the cancer should be zapped, if possible