Coping With Chemotherapy Side Effects
- TV host and celebrity chef Dave Myers, 65, is currently undergoing chemotherapy and dealt with a loss of appetite.
- The foodie said the treatment has affected his weight, but it’s also helped him focus on how to eat for living a healthy life.
- The chemotherapy side effects vary greatly from person to person, and some people experience very few, if any. More common chemotherapy side effects include: fatigue; hair loss; easy bruising and bleeding; infection; anemia (low red blood cell counts); nausea and vomiting; appetite changes and more.
- One of our experts says there are treatments that can help immensely with certain side effects. With nausea, for example, modern medicine should prevent anyone on chemo from throwing up.
- Try to be open with your care providers about how you’re feeling so they can give you the best possible recommendations and treatments for any side effects you may have.
Dave Myers, 65, is a famous television presenter and celebrity chef best known for being one half of the “Hairy Bikers” show along with Si King, 56. He’s made quite a career out of combining his passions for cooking and motorcycling, but his health has been suffering as of late. Myers hasn’t revealed exactly what disease he’s been facing, but in a recent episode of the “Seasoned” podcast, he opened up about how treatments have impacted his food-focused life.
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Even still, he’s managed to keep working. A new book about healthy eating coming next month will give readers healthy recipes to follow for living well something Myers has become more aware of with his health battle.
“So, it’s eat well for life, really, and I think it’s about eating for the immunity, your heart, for fiber, and, as you get older, well younger as well, it’s important to eat well but have that knack of making food tasty so you don't feel as though it's a penance,” he said.
When diving in to exactly how chemo has affected him, Myers didn’t sugar coat it.
“It's funny, when you first start chemotherapy, it was quite hard… I'm still having it,” he said. “It really was brutal, I lost so much weight and then it's a battle to get your calories in.
"So, at first, I thought, 'Right, this is great, I can eat all those pies I haven't been eating for years,' except the appetite was dreadful! And for me who’s a glutton, losing my appetite was awful. A can of soup was about as far as I could go, but then slowly it comes back.”
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Now that he’s gotten his weight back up to where he wants it to be, Myers is focusing on maintaining it in a healthy way.
“And now I’ve got to the point where I’m at the weight I want to be, and I want to maintain it,” he explained. “I am starting to think very carefully about what I put in.
“I have to cut down on not so much butter, because I've got the calories in now, eating a lot more pulses, and an awful lot more beans."
Learning About Chemotherapy Side Effects
If chemotherapy is a part of your treatment plan, don’t panic. Side effects vary greatly from person to person, and some people experience very few, if any. According to the American Cancer Society, some of the more common chemotherapy side effects include:
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Easy bruising and bleeding
- Infection
- Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Appetite changes
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Mouth, tongue and throat problems such as sores and pain with swallowing
- Peripheral neuropathy or other nerve problems, such as numbness, tingling and pain
- Skin and nail changes such as dry skin and color change
- Urine and bladder changes and kidney problems
- Weight changes
- Chemo brain, which can affect concentration and focus
- Mood changes
- Changes in libido and sexual function
- Fertility problems
But there are methods to combat these side effects. In a previous interview with Dr. Michael Ulm, a gynecologic oncologist at West Cancer Center, said the chemotherapy of today is much different that the chemotherapy of not too long ago.
“Everybody remembers what their parents went through or what their aunts and uncles went through probably 15 or 20 years ago,” Dr. Ulm said. “One of the things that patients worry most about is nausea with chemotherapy.
“With modern medicine and modern antiemetics, you should never have severe nausea and you should never throw up.”
Fatigue can also be a symptom and has the potential to worsen as chemo cycles add up. If your chemo has also caused anemia a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells you can try to combat fatigue by treating the anemia. Rest breaks, frequent exercise, healthy eating and prioritizing sleep can also help.
How to Fight Chemotherapy Fatigue
"What I typically tell patients is that [chemotherapy] is a bit of a roller coaster ride," Dr. Zachary Reese, a medical oncologist at Intermountain Healthcare, told SurvivorNet. "You're going to feel tired about a week into treatment, and that's when you'll hit bottom. And then you'll start to come back up again just in time to do it all over… You'll feel a little more tired the second time around than you did the first, and it will last a day longer."
Hair loss can be another chemo side effect. But this one might have more of a mental impact than a physical one. Thankfully, the hair loss associated with chemo is temporary. It generally begins about three to four weeks after beginning chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment. People can expect regrowth around four to six weeks after they complete treatment, but some patients may experience some changes to hair color and texture when it begins growing back.
How Ovarian Cancer Survivor Teri Chow's Wig (& Humor) Helped Her Cope With Hair Loss
No treatment exists that can guarantee your hair won’t fall out during or after chemo, according to the Mayo Clinic. But there are several treatments available to try including:
- Scalp cooling caps
- Minoxidil (Rogaine)
And if hair loss in unavoidable and going bald is not something you feel comfortable embracing, talk with your doctors and nurses to see if they can recommend a local wig-maker. One of our experts also says talking to other people who’ve been in similar situations can provide a great sense of comfort if you’re ready to do so.
"Talk to people who have been through it, get their advice, voice your concerns to your caregiver and see what they can do," Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, said.
As for other potential side effects, know that you have options. Try to be open with your care providers about how you’re feeling so they can give you the best possible recommendations and treatments for any side effects you may have.
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