The condition, a low level of red blood cells, is characterized by feelings of weakness, fatigue, dizziness, irritability, shortness of breath and chills.
Chemotherapy drugs can reduce the bone marrow's ability to make red blood cells.
Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body, providing the energy needed for normal activities. Chemotherapeutic agents kill all rapidly dividing cells, both cancerous and healthy, including blood cells. Chemotherapy not only destroys red blood cells, it suppresses the bone marrow's ability to produce new ones, causing anemia. The hemoglobin in red blood cells carries and releases oxygen throughout the body. Oxygen acts like fuel for the body, providing energy for muscles and organs to work.