The
side effects of cancer therapy will vary - depending on the
individual factors such as age, and the therapies received, and just
difference in how individuals metabolize and respond to the same
drugs.
The effects can range from minor to severe; can be
temporary, will often improve with time, but can also emerge late
and persist as chronic conditions.
Late and Long-term
effects can emerge from chemotherapy, radiotherapy,
and surgery. Long-term effects may present early, while
late effects can occur long after treatment has been
completed.
"Keep
in mind that not everyone who has cancer treatment gets each of
the long-term or late side effects, and some people might not
experience any aftereffects of treatment. Different chemotherapy
drugs cause different late effects. So if you didn't take the
chemotherapy drugs that can cause infertility, then you aren't
believed to be at risk of that particular late effect.
Radiation
and surgery will only affect the area of the body (the region) they're used to
treat. So, for example, if you had radiation to a part of your
body other than your head or neck, then you won't be at risk of
cavities and tooth decay as a result of your radiation
therapy."
Mayo Clinic
Patient Perspectives
on Recovery from Therapy
Susan on WebMagic
writes:
We all recover and handle treatment differently. From my
experience it took me about 6 weeks to sort of recover from
R-CHOP but I was left with some joint pains that eventually went
away after a few months.
...The stem cell transplant took me about 3 months to recover
from it. I would say I did a lot of running around 2 months post
transplant. My memory was an issue for about a year. I had a
bunch of problems from RCHOP causing constipation and bladder
issues but those eventually stabilized.
I think it is only normal to feel anxiety at the end of
treatment. I felt during treatment at least something was being
done to get rid of my disease and at the end of treatment I felt
lost and fearful that nothing was being done for me. I was
fearful of recurrence.
I think we all go through these feelings and eventually we learn
how to cope with our new lives.
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