Managing Nausea During Ovarian Cancer Treatment: ‘It’s Not Like the Old Days’

Patients Get Anti-Nausea Medicines Before Chemotherapy Begins

Doctors have learned that nausea is much easier to prevent than it is to fix once you've got it, so anti-nausea medications, called anti-emetics, are given throughout treatment. The American Cancer Society recommends preventive medication even before chemotherapy treatment begins, and it’s not uncommon for patients to get a nausea-prevention medicine through their IV before their chemotherapy is administered. In some instances, these drugs are able to prevent nausea for up for four days.

"The drugs that are given before chemotherapy really control the nausea exceptionally well," says Dr. Bupathi. “Patients may also be given preventive medication to keep at home before beginning a chemotherapy regimen to use on an as-needed basis, so they essentially have an arsenal of about three to four medicines that they can use as needed for the nausea."

"When I counsel patients about what to expect, I tell them that typically it's the first few days days [following chemo] that they'll feel a little nauseated," Dr. Erin Crane, gynecologic oncologist at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, told SurvivorNet.

"We'll [prescribe] either Zofran or Ondansetron, usually for three days after treatment, to help prevent nausea. There are other medications that can be taken for breakthrough nausea if the Zofran's not controlling it such as Phenergan, also known as Promethazine, or Compazine. If patients are still having a hard time, they can take the Zofran as needed afterward, and we'll also add other medications to their IV during infusion." Other oncologists use dexamethasone steroid pills after patients have completed their chemotherapy to prevent the nausea that often develops after treatment is done.

Some patients prefer to try more natural remedies :

• Ginger tea can help soothe the stomach.
• Cannabis is another option. Find out more about that here.

The nausea symptoms that are most likely to pop up in the week following chemotherapy "are more like a queasiness, as if you ate something that's just not sitting right,” says Dr. Bupathi. "That's really about the extent that you should experience. If you're having a ton of nausea, or can't keep food down, are vomiting, we worry about something else going on that needs to be investigated."

If you experience severe symptoms of nausea it's important to let your medical team know so they can take the necessary steps to reduce these side effects.

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