Nurse Practitioner Vivian Ruszkiewicz's guide to understanding chemotherapy side effects.
Welcome to Nurse Practitioner Vivian Ruszkiewicz‘s guide to chemotherapy side effects. Ruszkiewics from OhioHealth has collaborated with SurvivorNet for this resource. People in the ovarian cancer community tell us that hearing advice like this, and knowing the options, has helped them make better decisions and reduce anxiety.
Vivian Ruszkiewicz
Hair loss is one of the more distressing side effects of chemotherapy -- but unfortunately, many chemotherapies do cause hair loss or thinning. However, on the plus side, women can expect to begin to see hair growing back around 4 weeks after stopping chemotherapy treatments.Â
Vivian Ruszkiewicz
Nausea is a fairly common side effect for women getting chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, and many patients are afraid they will be so sick they won't be able to eat. But nausea prevention methods have improved drastically in recent years -- and many people say taking the preventative medications leave them with either very little nausea from chemo, or none at all.
Vivian Ruszkiewicz
When undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, occasionally a woman will experience neuropathy -- which usually presents as a numbness or tingling in the fingers or toes. There are medications and other types of interventions that can help with this side effect.Â
Vivian Ruszkiewicz
A common side effect when women are getting chemotherapy for ovarian cancer is constipation. Fortunately, in most cases, there are steps you can take at home -- which your doctor will be able to go over with you -- that can alleviate these symptoms.
