Coping With Chemotherapy Side Effects
- Actress Shannen Doherty, 53, has spoken on the difficulties surrounding her recent divorce from Kurt Iswarienko and her ongoing battle with metastatic cancer. She is set to start a new round of chemotherapy for and as she preps for it she isn’t shy to admit she’s scared how her body will react to treatment, like losing her hair again.
- Doherty has battled breast cancer since 2015. Although the cancer went into remission in 2017, it returned as stage 4 cancer in 2019, meaning it has spread to other body parts, including her brain. She underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor last year. Now she’s embarking on a new round of chemotherapy.
- Chemotherapy stops cancerous cells from growing, dividing, and spreading to other organs. It works by traveling through the bloodstream, killing cancerous cells. However, the process also impacts healthy cells, leading to side effects.
- For more on how to manage chemotherapy side effects, check out SurvivorNet’s digital guide.
Speaking on the most recent episode of her “Lets Be Clear With Shannen Doherty,” podcast, Doherty explained, “Obviously, divorce is not easy, especially when you really loved someone. And I did love my husband. And when you get so hurt by their actions that you just feel betrayed and like a sucker, it’s really hard.
Read MoreRELATED: Shannen Doherty Slams Publication as ‘Sleazy’ for Violating Her Privacy & Asking Questions About Divorce as She Battles Stage 4 Breast CancerView this post on Instagram
Recounting how she started her “very first chemo” in 2016 and needed a port to be put in her chest for an “entire year,” something she didn’t enjoy, she expressed the joy she felt when she felt “normal again” when the port was removed.
At that time she thought she “really turned a corner in cancer and had beat it.” However, she continued, “Flash forward, obviously I didn’t beat it, it went to stage four.”
When she needed to get an infusion again she ultimately chose not to have a port and take in the chemo through an IV needle.
“The end result of course was that I collapsed all of my veins in my left arm, I couldn’t do it in my right arm because of lymph nodes being removed in 2016 … so I really crashed my left arm. But I thought I was fine … cut to now, and I am having to go back on chemo,” she emotionally explained.
“And I now know I can’t go back to doing it the way I was doing it, that I have to have a port. And it’s really hard. Like, the idea of having to go through all that again has wrecked me.”
After taking a break to refresh her mind and collect her feelings, she continued, “It’s wrecked me in a sense that, yes I knew I had stage four, yes I knew it was really serious, yes I’ve taken steps to protect my family and clean up a lot of stuff, but when you have to go to the hospital and you have to get a port put into you
Doherty continued, “It becomes very real in an incredibly different way, because I have no idea how long I’m gonna be on the chemo. I have no idea if it’s gonna be three months or if it’s gonna be six months or if we’re gonna … if after three months, it’s not working, if we’re gonna change again.
“That’s not something that I can predict. It’s not something my doctors can predict. And it’s scary. It’s like a big wake up call. At the same time there is some positivity there and the positivity is that because my molecular structure of my cancer cells changed recently, it means that there’s a lot more protocols for me to try.”
She then admitted it’s the first time she’s felt “hopeful” due to more protocols being available in her treatment.
“So there is hope mixed with my own bit of sadness because, again, I just don’t know what all these chemos, and it’s more than one chemo I’m going on, we’re kind of throwing the kitchen sink at it,” she added, noting she thinks she’ll be going through two different chemo treatments within one day.
Doherty admitted she has no idea how her body will react to the treatment.
RELATED: Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer
“It’s a little scary, I know that I’m slowly going to lose my hair again, which is horrible. This is going to be the third time I’ve lost my hair,” she said, pointing out that she currently has a sewn in weave.
She said she’ll be going in for her first round of chemo a few days after her June 24th episode was put out.
“And to just be walking into the unknown ..I just feel like my life has been unknown for over a year now, between divorce and cancer,” Doherty, who credited medicine and science for keeping her alive, added.
Doherty ended her podcast by informing her listeners she strives to keep fighting this disease because she wants to spend the most time with her loved ones. She also urged news outlets who invade her privacy, regarding her private divorce matters, to have more respect to those in the spotlight.
Shannen Doherty’s Breast Cancer Battle
Shannen Doherty first received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2015 after she discovered a lump in her breast. For treatments the first time around, she underwent hormone therapy, a single mastectomy (the removal of all breast tissue from one breast), chemotherapy and radiation.
Then in 2017, Doherty was deemed to be in remission, however, the cancer returned just two years later in 2019. This time, her diagnosis was metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer.
There is technically no cure for metastatic breast cancer, but that doesn’t mean people can’t live good, long lives with this stage of disease, thanks to hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted drugs and immunotherapy, as well as combination approaches to treatment.
Doherty took to Instagram at the start of last year to recap how her cancer fight is going. She underwent her first round of radiation to her head on Jan. 12, 2023, followed by brain surgery to remove and biopsy a tumor on Jan. 16, 2023. The surgery she underwent is called a craniotomy.
“It’s a procedure to cut out a tumor and it can be metastasized or a tumor that started someplace else like the breasts and went to the brain, especially if the tumor is causing symptoms or if it’s large,” Dr. Kimberly Hoang, a board-certified neurosurgeon at Emory University School of Medicine, explained.
Several neurosurgeons tell SurvivorNet that the procedure can allow patients with cancer in their brain to live longer, more vibrant lives, and this appears to be the case with Doherty.
“A couple of decades ago, to have a brain metastasis was a very bad prognosis for patients. They didn’t live for more than a couple of months, so it was a very terminal thing. Thanks to a lot of advancements in microsurgery we do and radiation, patients are living longer,” Dr. Hoang said.
Managing Chemotherapy and Its Side Effects
Chemotherapy is an effective tool for oncologists to help treat cancer by stopping cancerous cells from growing, dividing, and spreading to other organs. Chemo works by traveling through the bloodstream, killing cancerous cells. However, healthy cells are also impacted in the process, leading to side effects.
Patients almost universally experience fatigue, often alongside gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea. Doctors have many effective medications to combat chemo-induced nausea. “But mitigating that fatigue often depends on the patient,” Dr. Renata Urban, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, previously told SurvivorNet.
Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects
“Neuropathy is probably one of the most challenging side effects,” explains, Dr. Renata Urban, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. Neuropathy results from damage to the peripheral nerves. It usually resolves after chemotherapy treatment, but sometimes symptoms can persist. While it’s typically characterized by numbness or a pins-and-needles sensation in the hands and feet, neuropathy can have several different symptoms, including:
- Weakness in the hands or feet
- Stabbing or burning pain in the hands or feet
- Difficulty gripping, such as when holding a fork
- Difficulty with fine motor skills, such as writing or buttoning a shirt
Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of chemotherapy. When chemotherapy affects the rapidly dividing cells in the lining of the stomach, the resulting cellular havoc in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to side effects such as nausea and vomiting. However, doctors can help patients mitigate the hit with various medications before, during, and after treatment.
“Part of the chemotherapy prescription includes a set regimen of anti-nausea medications,” says Dr. Renata Urban, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. “We also ensure that patients have medications at home that they can use should they develop nausea after treatment.”
Hair loss is another side effect of chemotherapy.
WATCH: Coping with hair loss.
“For cancer patients, losing one’s hair can be unbelievably stressful. To start with, the dread of losing one’s hair can lead to some sleepless nights and feelings of anxiety,” Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, told SurvivorNet.
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Chemotherapy can cause hair loss. It usually begins about three to four weeks after chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment. It happens because this treatment targets quickly dividing cells throughout the body. That includes cancer cells but also hair cells.
Most patients can expect regrowth four to six weeks after treatment. However, it is possible when your hair grows back, you may notice some changes in its color and texture.
How to Deal With the Side Effects of Chemotherapy
Coping with an Emotional Breast Cancer Diagnosis
When you are diagnosed with cancer, feelings of fear and anxiety are completely normal. SurvivorNet experts recommend four tips for women diagnosed with breast cancer to better cope with their emotions during this difficult stage of the journey.
- Let your family and close friends know and let them help. After a diagnosis, you’re often faced with a ton of emotions and need help. It would be best if you encouraged people close to you to jump in with whatever practical help they can offer.
- Keep a journal. Many cancer warriors have shared with SurvivorNet that keeping a journal is an effective tool for acknowledging your feelings and emotions.
- Join a cancer support group. There is a good chance someone else is facing what you are facing or has been through this emotional leg of the journey before. Support groups in nearly every community offer opportunities to connect with others going through a similar journey. You’ll learn constructive insight from others who can tell you about what to expect and how to stay strong on tough days.
- Seek professional help from a therapist. Ask your doctor to refer you to a therapist so you can discuss your fears and concerns in a safe space. Vocalizing your thoughts and feelings rather than bottling them inside can be therapeutic.
WATCH: Maintaining a Positive Headspace
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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