An oncologist dispelled the main myths about chemotherapy

Many cancer patients still wrongly assume that chemotherapy is supposedly more harmful than beneficial. Among the most common rumors about it are many side effects and complete hair loss. Rasul Akhmaev, oncologist at SM-Clinica, tried to dispel the myths about chemotherapy in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru.

The first point with which the specialist decided to start is the alleged uselessness of chemotherapy. He said that "some cancer patients are convinced that chemotherapy is absolutely useless," because only surgery will help to cope with this disease.

"Of course, this is a fundamentally wrong misconception, because the effectiveness of chemotherapy is affected by different factors - the type of cancer, the prevalence of metastases to other organs, complete or partial response to a particular chemopreparations. Sometimes "chemo" is the only way to successfully treat a cancer patient, such as in lung, stomach or breast cancer," the doctor noted.

He added that it all depends on the specific situation. Thus, chemotherapy can be used as the main method of treatment or in combination with other methods.

Another myth, according to Akhmaev, is that "chemo" is very harmful to the health of the cancer patient. The oncologist explained that such thoughts are mostly related to the fact that such treatment has unpleasant side effects. He also drew attention to the fact that chemotherapy has a different impact on the health of each patient: some people have severe nausea and vomiting during the course of therapy, others get weakness and dizziness, sometimes there are problems with the kidneys, some people gain weight or lose weight.

The doctor noted that most often such reactions to the drugs are short-lived. However, he continued, in case such a side effect does not go away for a long time, patients should not be afraid and worry a lot, as doctors have many ways to ease nausea or relieve headaches.

"Here it is important to understand one point: the health benefits of chemotherapy far exceed the inconveniences that are experienced at first by cancer patients," - emphasized the specialist.

The third myth is that hair falls out after chemotherapy. Thus, Akhmaev drew attention to the fact that "not all chemopreparations cause hair loss". Such a side effect of "chemo" may occur in case of individual intolerance to the drug or due to weakened immunity of the cancer patient, when chemotherapy has an effect not only on cancer cells, but also on hair follicles.

"Meanwhile, we always try to select the most gentle drugs with proven efficacy for cancer patients. Now, for example, there are targeted drugs that affect only cancer cells and do not damage healthy cells at all. In addition, their toxic effect on the body and separately on the hair is minimal," said the oncologist.

Akhmaev also advised patients in case of increased risk of alopecia to cool the scalp with the help of a special "cap" - a cold helmet. Such a procedure is currently carried out in various medical centers and helps to significantly reduce the damage to the hair "chemistry".

The fourth myth is that during chemotherapy you should completely refuse meat and sweets, because these products increase the "activity" of the tumor. The specialist said that weakened after such treatment, animal protein is not harmful, but, on the contrary, is vital to increase energy resources to fight the disease. Therefore, he noted, the diet can include pork, beef, poultry, but do not overuse red meat. As for the refusal of sweets, which is allegedly a feeder for cancerous tumors, it is nothing more than a myth, but strongly lay on sweets is also not worth it.

The fifth myth: if the doctor has diagnosed cancer, it is no longer necessary to give up bad habits.

"This frivolous attitude to health can only exacerbate the already difficult situation and lead to death sooner than the patient expects, says the oncologist, because smoking and alcohol only increase the toxic load on the body during the "chemo". In addition, carcinogens contained in tobacco smoke, can provoke the rapid spread of metastases to neighboring organs, most often in the lung. And it is much more difficult for doctors to fight for the life and health of the patient", - warned Akhmaev.

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