Table of Contents

Direct & indirect side effects of cancer

Direct acute cancer treatment side effects: affect immediately

Direct late cancer side effects: happens later in life

Indirect cancer side effects

Chemo is still a life-saving treatment

What you need to know about cancer treatment

Before beginning your cancer treatment, you need to know a few things:

1. Everyone responds differently to treatment.

2. You may not get every single side effect, and some people get very few.

3. Persistency (or how long the side effects last) varies on the type of side effect

4. Exercise & nutrition is the most important therapy for survival after conventional medicine

5. It’s crucial to keep track of your side effects: what they are, when they start, & when they go away

6. Your oncologist will give you the strongest dose that you can handle first

Lastly, there are many ways to strengthen your body after chemo.

“When I started chemo, the nausea and and diarrhea were debilitating. So, I started nausea medication because I couldn’t go on my daily walks without feeling nauseous. But then I got dizzy instead. Now, I stopped the nausea medication, changed my diet and started my walks again. I no longer feel dizzy or nauseous, I have learned to walk daily, even when I don’t feel like it, and I’ve noticed a huge difference.”

— Non- Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer Survivor

Direct & Indirect Side Effects of cancer treatment 

Direct side effects of chemo are due to the toxins killing both cancerous and healthy cells. 

For example: Chemo toxins affect red and white blood cells causing anemia or low immunity.

Directly-related side effects come in two main forms:

1. Those that happen while chemo is administered (acute side effects)

2. Those that happen after chemo is done (late side effects).

On the other hand, indirect side effects are the symptoms you feel.

For example: Loss of appetite/taste changes (late side effects) lead to malnutrition (indirect side effect).

Direct Acute Cancer Treatment Side Effects Affect you immediately

Examples of Acute Side Effects

• Hair loss/Skin changes/Easy bruising/ Body aches

• Rapid aging/Reduced stamina/Weakness/Fatigue

• Changes in taste/Loss of appetite

• Nausea/Vomiting/Constipation/ Diarrhea

• Fertility problems

• Anemia/Low immunity/Fevers/ Infections

• Loss of: Memory/Concentration/Focus

Acute cancer treatment side effects:

• start when chemo is being administered

• usually end shortly after you finish chemo

• persistency varies according to: age, gender, health status, dosage, and type of chemotherapy
  

Disclaimer: Currently, there is only one form of medicine that can be administered with chemo and without the risk of side effects, while also killing cancer, and that is EXERCISE.

Direct Late Cancer Treatment Side Effects Happen later in life

Example of Late-Term Side Effects

• Cancer recurrence

• Heart failure

• Heart inflammation

• Artery stiffness

• Coronary artery disease

• Left ventricle dysfunction

Late-term cancer treatment side effects:

• are more severe

• are related to organ damage

• can be harder to manage

For example:

• Cardiotoxicity — is damage caused by cancer treatment to your heart

• Neurotoxicity — is damage done to the nervous system

Disclaimer: Long-term side effects from chemo are less common. While side effects are unpleasant, they must be weighed against the need to kill the cancer cells.

“During chemo, I developed an arrhythmia—which affects me to this day. My heart rate will speed up out of nowhere 3-4x a day with no warning, even when I’m sitting. I am now medicated for my arrhythmia, but my cardiologist said the best thing that I can do now is to start exercising to help it not get worse.”

— Stage II Breast Cancer Survivor

Click here to learn ways to improve your survival and reduce cancer treatment side effects.

Indirect cancer treatment side effects

Examples of Indirect Side Effects:

• Weight gain/Decrease in metabolism

• Malnutrition

• Insomnia/anxiety/stress

• Muscle weakness/Muscle loss

• Shortness of breath

• Less stamina

• Inflammation

• Decrease in physical activity

Indirect cancer treatment side effects:

• are a result of the symptoms you feel from chemo

• not directly caused by chemo

For example: loss of appetite/taste changes are due to the chemo— but everything else that comes from loss of appetite such as weakness is an indirect side effect. 

“After my first cancer, I went back to my normal life as much as I could. After it came back, I learned that I couldn’t keep living the way I was, and my lifestyle had to change. I quickly learned I need to exercise and eat better to reduce the risk of it coming back again.Now, I exercise daily during treatment to give myself the best chance for it to never come back again.”

— 2x Breast Cancer survivor

For the best strategies to fight cancer side effects click here.  

Regardless, chemo is still the best life-saving treatment

Conventional medicine is far from perfect.

But it comes with many life-saving properties.

Many cancer treatments have >90% success rate, so the risk vs reward of longer living is worth it.

You have tools at your disposal. Click here to learn more. 

Here is how OncoloFit coaching can help you kick cancer side effects to the curb.

Research shows that the best way to reduce cancer treatment side effects is through exercise and nutrition.

Both eating enough protein & weight lifting can reduce many of the cancer related side effects you may experience such as:

• bloating

• body aches

• fatigue

• nausea

• neuropathy

• chemo brain

• muscle loss

• weakness

The key is to have the right exercise plan to target the treatment you are taking.

For example, one of the best ways to reduce cancer fatigue is by strengthening your legs.

Lower leg strength is associated with less cancer fatigue and better quality of life.

At OncoloFit, my goal as your online coach is to give you the right program to help you:

• feel better

• reduce fatigue

• boost confidence

And help you reduce your risk of a second cancer.

1. A structured workout plan that balances out rest & activity — because your body during cancer treatment needs a variation in training intensities to improve recovery and reduce injury risk.

2. Workout that match your cancer treatment — your cancer treatment requires careful consideration, and in order to improve the outcomes of your survival, I change your workouts according to your treatment schedule

3. Use exercises that are known to fight the cancer side effects — all exercise is good for you, but not all exercises are used as medicine. I specifically customize your workout plan to fight the cancer treatment side effects so that you can feel better in and out of treatment.

Cancer is not something you have to go through alone.

You can have guidance along to way to prevent many side effects along your journey.