What are the Side Effects of Lymphoma Treatment?
Because the drugs used in chemotherapy kill healthy cells as well as abnormal ones you may develop side effects as a result of treatment. These will not affect every patient and largely depend on the type of drugs you are given and their dosage as well as how long you will be taking them for. Because the chemotherapy drugs target cells that are rapidly dividing (in order to kill the quickly growing cancer cells) normal healthy cells in your body that divide quickly are also affected. Luckily most of these effects will go away once treatment is stopped and cells re-grow. Your bone marrow may be affected during treatments as well as your mouth and intestinal linings and hair follicles so you may experience one or more of the following side effects: • Loss of hair • Sores in your mouth • Lowered resistance to infection • A tendency to bruise or bleed easily after minor cuts or injuries due to low blood platelet levels.
