Why does chemo make you so damn sick!?

Asked By: HauntedForeverLS 31-35, F 3 months ago

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Posted by LovelyOwl Feb 16th, 2013 at 6:14AM

Through chemotherapy your immune system gets weak because not only is your immune system dealing with the effects of cancer but also fighting off the medicine pumped through your body. Many medications cause nausea and vomiting but Chemotherapy is known for that side effect.

I looked up some risk factors for you:

You're younger than 50.
You've experienced nausea and vomiting with previous treatments, or you have a history of motion sickness.
You have a high level of anxiety.
You experienced morning sickness during pregnancy.
You are prone to vomiting when you're sick.
You have a history of drinking little or no alcohol.

Do these apply to you? I'd recommend talking with your oncologist about medications to fight back the nausea. There are many anti-emetics out now that really make a difference.

I get nausea from my medication and I take Mecklazine... It's normally for dizziness but it's a world of help. Also, some people use medical MJ.......

(((gentle hugs))) & love!!!! You have some very special people who want you to fight. That's a big weight I'm sure. It is OK though to stop fighting and let go..... Someone needs to tell you that.

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Reply by HauntedForeverLS Feb 16th, 2013 at 6:18AM

I had an appointment with the oncologist this morning and he said that he wants to stop the chemo and radiation and let me just be on pain killers for the rest of the time because the chemo almost killed my kidneys and seemed to have made everything worse, so there's no more hope... Only a little bit of time....
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Reply by LovelyOwl Feb 16th, 2013 at 2:30PM

(((gentle hugs))) :( I'm so sorry you're going through this! ::( My heart is broken for you & I Pray that you stop hurting.
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6 Answers to "Why does chemo make you so damn sick!?"

Posted by GwydionFrost Feb 9th, 2013 at 10:38AM

Because the whole purpose of chemo is to poison you, and hope that the cancer cells die off before you do.

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Reply by HauntedForeverLS Feb 9th, 2013 at 10:41AM

I only have a 2% chance of this actually working at the moment I wish I never tried...
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Reply by Baaane Feb 9th, 2013 at 10:53AM

I've never seen any evidence that chemotherapy works. I'm not saying it doesn't though. Anyway, what do you have to lose?
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Posted by Enygma Feb 9th, 2013 at 11:01AM

It's tough love

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Posted by Freestanding Feb 9th, 2013 at 10:50AM

I'm sorry. It kills everything. Talk to your Doc there are many things they can do to ease some of side effects.

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Posted by BarvoDelancy Feb 9th, 2013 at 10:44AM

One of my best friends JUST finished her chemo treatments - six rounds, it was nasty.

The first round was the worst BY FAR though. She never, ever wanted to go back and basically had to be dragged back kicking and screaming. The subsequent treatments got far easier, although her overall health got worse.

But yeah, the entire purpose of chemo is to attack your body and the cancer at once. The problem with cancer is there's no medicine that can tell the difference between cancer and healthy cells.

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Posted by sintobus Feb 9th, 2013 at 10:31AM

because it kills off your immune system....

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