The Complications and Side Effects of Cancer Treatment
Cancer is characterized by abnormal cell division; therefore, the treatment options involve eliminating the uncontrollably dividing cells. In a localized tumor, the cancerous cells can be removed surgically. On the other hand, in cases where the mass is large and has spread to other parts of the body, the patients are subjected to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The first side effect of treatment is alopecia; a condition characterized by hair loss. In addition, the patients may have other skin complications including dryness and redness. The second side effect is anemia (Momenimovahed & Salehiniya, 2019). Patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy are likely to have anemia because the treatment inadvertently kills the healthy red blood cells in the blood system. Thirdly, cancer patients experience a lot of pain during the treatment (de Pauli et al., 2019). Pain can interfere with the patient’s quality of life and contribute to other emotional and physiological problems. Furthermore, nausea and vomiting is a common side effect for the people receiving cancer treatment.
The complications and side effects can be reduced by eating a light meal before the procedure and eating a balanced diet. The light meal helps in reducing nausea while the balanced diet reduces the likelihood of developing anemia. Also, the patients require a lot of counselling and emotional support to reduce the emotional torture associated with the expectation of pain especially when they are about to undergo the treatment procedure. On the other hand, patients experiencing hair loss may need to cover their heads to avoid sunburns and
Factors Contributing to Incident and Mortality Rates of Various Cancers
The onset and progression of cancer depend on various factors. Lifestyle and behavioral patterns are major determinants of the incident and mortality rates for various cancers (Momenimovahed & Salehiniya, 2019). For example, people who smoke are more vulnerable to lung, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and oesophageal cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer in the United State. Also, occupation may expose one to cancer. People working in the chemical industries and inhale the chemical materials may also develop lung cancer. The chemicals are also linked with skin cancer. Also, the mortality rates depend on the economic status. People from low-income families are unlikely to afford all the cancer treatments.
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