What Causes Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy?
The chemotherapy drugs used to fight cancer are toxic and designed to kill fast growing cells as cancer cells are fast growing cells. However, all fast growing cells are sensitive to the effects of chemotherapy. Hair is a fast growing cell and the reason that hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy. The nervous system is the system that transmits information between the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the rest of the body. It is designed to transmit feelings such as touch and temperature. It delivers messages from sight, it delivers messages to the muscles to move. Nerve cells are very easily damaged by toxins. The chemotherapy drugs have been shown to cause the sheathing (protective covering) of the nerve cells to degenerate. This is similar to an electrical wire that is covered with insulation, and the insulation is beginning to crumble. Without insulation, the unprotected wire will start short circuiting. In the same way, when the sheathing of nerve cell
