TITLE:
Side Effects of Chemotherapy in Cancer Patients and Evaluation of Patients Opinion about Starvation Based Differential Chemotherapy
AUTHORS:
Muhammad Shahbaz Aslam, Sidra Naveed, Aftab Ahmed, Zaigham Abbas, Iram Gull, Muhammad Amin Athar
KEYWORDS:
Starvation, Differential Chemotherapy, Side Effects, Chemotherapeutic Drugs
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.5 No.8,
July
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Side-effects associated
with the cancer chemotherapy limit the scope of chemotherapeutic drugs and no
data was available about these side effects in Pakistan. Moreover starvation
based differential chemotherapy has been proved to greatly reduce the side
effects of chemotherapy depending on starvation time. The current study was
conducted to survey the common side effects of the chemotherapeutic drugs and
the role of starvation to reduce them. The study included total 100 subjects
with multiple carcinomas. A comprehensive questionnaire about starvation
inquiry, chemotherapy side effects and their basic information was filled by
interviewers as told by patients. There were 48% patients with breast cancer
and 11% with uterine cancer. Out of these patients 30%, 28%, 9% and 9% patients
were agreed to starve for 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours respectively. The survey
regarding the side effects of chemotherapy showed that 43% patients were
suffering from headache, fatigue 90%, weakness 95%, hair loss 76%, nausea 77%,
vomiting 75%, diarrhea 31%, abdominal cramps 40%, mouth sores 47%, dry mouth
74%, memory impairment 14%and
numbness 49%. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Pakistan. Only 18% of
the total patients were agreed to starve for more than one day.
Chemotherapy-associated side effects vary greatly and it does not depend upon
cancer type. But these side effects depend on multiple factors such as the type
and dose of chemotherapeutic drug, patient’s health status and stage of cancer.