What does chemo do to your throat?
Sore mouth and throat can be caused by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The cells that line the inside of the mouth and throat divide quickly, making them sensitive to the effects of these cancer treatments. When the cells are damaged, the lining of the mouth and throat becomes inflamed (red and swollen).
What is the most life threatening side effect of chemotherapy?
Low blood cell counts happen because of chemotherapy’s effect on blood cells made in the bone marrow. Blood cell counts often reach their lowest level about 7 to 14 days after chemotherapy. Low blood cell counts is the most common and most serious side effect of chemotherapy.
Do chemo side effects get worse with each treatment?
Most types of pain related to chemotherapy get better or go away between treatments. However, nerve damage often gets worse with each dose. Sometimes the drug causing the nerve damage has to be stopped. It can take months or years for nerve damage from chemotherapy to improve or go away.
Why is it hard to swallow after chemo?
For example, people who have mouth sores (mucositis) due to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or radiation therapy to the head and neck may have pain when swallowing. Many people who are getting radiation therapy to the head and neck area also have dry mouth due to reduced saliva which can make swallowing difficult.
What can I expect from throat radiation?
After treatment, your mouth or throat may become dry and sore, and your voice may become hoarse. Radiation therapy can cause your salivary glands to make less saliva, which can contribute to a dry mouth. These effects will gradually get better after treatment finishes, but it may take several weeks or even months.
Does throat cancer come back?
You may be relieved to finish treatment, yet it’s hard not to worry about cancer coming back (recurring). This is very common if you’ve had cancer. For others, the cancer might never go away completely. Some people may still may get regular treatments to try and control the cancer for as long as possible.
What should you not do after chemo?
9 things to avoid during chemotherapy treatment
- Contact with body fluids after treatment.
- Overextending yourself.
- Infections.
- Large meals.
- Raw or undercooked foods.
- Hard, acidic, or spicy foods.
- Frequent or heavy alcohol consumption.
- Smoking.
How many days after chemo do you feel better?
The rule of thumb I usually tell my patients is that it takes about two months of recovery time for every one month of treatment before energy will return to a baseline. Everyone is different but at least this gives you a ballpark. This is a lot longer than most people assume.