All medications can have side effects, but it is impossible to know if or when they will happen to you. It is the same with chemotherapy. No two people will react the same way. Even if you are receiving the same chemotherapy regimen as someone else, you may have a different experience with side effects.

There are over 50 drugs used in cancer chemotherapy today. Many of these are easy to take and cause very few side effects. Others are known to produce serious side effects that can be managed with other medications.

Side effects vary. Which side effects you may experience (if any), how strongly you react, when they may happen and how long they last will depend on both the type of drugs you are taking and how often you take them. Some may happen right away; others may appear after a few days or weeks.

Ask your doctor and oncology nurse which side effects you are likely to experience. They will tell you what you, together with your healthcare team, can do to prevent or manage these effects. They can also tell you which side effects you should report right away and which ones can wait until your next appointment.

Most people fear the side effects of chemotherapy. Unfortunately it is the extreme side effects are the ones that make news stories and are passed around by word of mouth. Keep in mind that fear and anxiety are not helpful. If you are feeling extremely anxious, consider asking for counselling, supportive care measures, or anti-anxiety drugs to help you through your treatment successfully.

Chemotherapy drugs attack all fast-growing cells. Because these drugs travel throughout the entire body, it is impossible to kill the cancer cells without causing damage to fast-growing healthy cells as well. Damage to normal, healthy cells is the cause of side effects. Your healthy cells can recover and most side effects will gradually disappear when treatment is finished. Some may be permanent.

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