The National Cancer Institute booklet Radiation Therapy and You has helpful information about radiation therapy and managing its side effects. Chemotherapy The side effects of chemotherapy depend mainly on the drugs and the doses the patient receives as well as how the drugs are given. In addition, as with other types of treatment, side effects vary from person to person. Anticancer drugs that are placed in the bladder may irritate the bladder for a few days after treatment, causing some discomfort or bleeding. Some drugs, if they come into contact with the skin or genitals, may cause a rash.
Systemic chemotherapy affects rapidly dividing cells throughout the body.
These cells include blood cells, which fight infection, help the blood to clot, or carry oxygen to all parts of the body. When blood cells are affected by anticancer drugs, patients are more likely to get infections, may bruise or bleed easily, and may have less energy. Cells in hair roots and cells that line the digestive tract also divide rapidly. As a result, patients may lose their hair and may have other side effects such as poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, or mouth sores. Usually, these side effects go away gradually during the recovery periods between treatments or after treatment is over.