During the cancer treatment, it becomes hard to think about the long-term side effects of chemotherapy. However, you should know the treatment of chemotherapy comes with the risk of several side effects. During the treatment, you may be facing short-term side effects like feeling tired all the time, heavy hair loss, and so on.
However long-term side effects do not show as soon as the treatment has started but after months and years after treatment, the complications will start to appear. Sometimes they are not treatable. You should consult with your chemotherapy in Siliguri about your long-term effects and get to know how to manage the symptoms.
Different long-term effects of chemotherapy can be seen in these:
1. Physical Effects
Physical long-term effects after chemotherapy include:
- Bone conditions
Long consumption of chemotherapy drugs can result in thinning of bones. While killing cancerous cells it destroyed the healthy cells in the bones and marrow. And long-term effects can cause broken bones etc.
- Heart-related conditions
Different people can face different issues and heart-related conditions are not impossible to occur as a cause of long-term chemotherapy treatment effect. Irregular heartbeats, heart disease, heart failure, vascular disease, and stroke are some of the common effects.
- Lung diseases
Chemotherapy also causes lung diseases like a decrease in lung capacity, inflammation in the lungs, lung damage, breathing problems, etc. You can discuss your condition with your specialist for Cancer therapy in Siliguri and get to know what precautions should be taken to manage the condition.
- Infertility
In some cases, after chemotherapy, there is a possibility of going through infertility risk. In case you are thinking of having a child after treatment, you should discuss it with your doctor. If the cancerous cells are not that spread, then there is a possibility that doctors will help preserve the sperm or eggs to make it possible to have children.
- Dental issues
Chemotherapy can even affect the enamel of the teeth. Cancer of the head and neck treatment most likely can affect the dental parts. They can affect in several ways like a decrease in saliva production or an increase in the risk of cavities etc.
2. Cognitive Effects
- Mental health conditions: Some patients face the issues of slow thinking, while others find their memory power and recall strength decreasing.
- Fatigue: Even after chemotherapy, it is fine that some patients still face fatigue that lingers for a long period. In this case, the patient should talk with a specialist to know your condition better.
3. Emotional Effects
- Anxiety and depression : Long-term effects of chemotherapy can affect the mental health of the patient. For a longer period of treatment, it is common to face the situation of anxiety, depression, and other issues related to mental health. It is important to have regular check-ups with your specialty to get control of your situation.
- Social isolation: Overall physical and emotional effects of chemotherapy can make a person isolate himself from the social world.
Conclusion
The possible long-term effects of chemotherapy can hugely impact personal life. Even after treatment, some patients have to face different effects that degrade their life’s quality. Whether it is a cognitive effect, emotional effect, or physical effect, it is important to check with your chemotherapy in Siliguri to understand your condition better and find a way to manage the effects. Life after treatment of cancer with chemotherapy might bring several complications for the long term which can be temporary for some while permanent for others.
