Diabetes and chemotherapy can be a quite fearful combination. When diabetics develop cancer, both has to be treated. Chemotherapy is a famous cancer treatment. However, there are chemotherapy effects on diabetes.
When a diabetic develops cancer, there is no choice for diabetes and chemotherapy not to go together. However, it is not the end of the world. One should not lose hope. Modern medicine is always ready to help. The only thing to consider are the chemotherapy effects on diabetes.
Cells
Chemotherapy, as a cancer treatment targets the cells. Cells are the body’s basic unit of life. Our body is made up of many cells that divide and grow in a programmed way to yield more cells so the body grows and stays healthy. These cells die naturally and replaced with new ones when they become damaged or old.
Cancer starts in cells when this process goes wrong. For some cases, diabetes causes cancer and cancer causes diabetes. That is why diabetes and chemotherapy can go together when the two ailments are already present. The diabetes patient must be ready for the chemotherapy effects on diabetes with the help of his doctor.
When cancer occurs and cells do not die when they should and new cells are produced, extra cells which the body does not need become numerous and may form a tissue called tumor.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy means to treat by chemicals to kill cancerous cells. Shortened as “chemo”, it is a systematic therapy, meaning, it affects the entire body by going through the bloodstream.
Chemotherapy uses chemicals which intervenes with the division of the cell. This cancer treatment damages the proteins or DNA so that cancer cells will commit suicide.
With diabetes and chemotherapy going together, the major diabetes treatment is healthy diet and lifestyle to make the ailment harmless. While cancer treatment is chemotherapy and there are really chemotherapy effects on diabetes.
Chemotherapy hits the cells that are dividing rapidly, including the normal cells. However, normal cells can recover from damage while the cancer cells cannot.
Adjuvant, neoadjuvant and chemo regimens
Adjuvant chemotherapy is a post-surgery treatment, when needed as a cancer primary treatment. This is oftentimes true with breast cancer treatment.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a pre-surgery treatment so that lesser tissues can be removed as this can shrink the cancer cells. In most cases, chemo medicines are given in combination also known as chemo regimens.
Diabetes and chemotherapy
Chemotherapy effects on diabetes are usually on the patient’s sugar level. Others are are nausea, vomiting, fatigue and loss of appetite. The latter affects the patient’s food intake and eventually on the sugar levels, which is crucial with diabetes.
Chemo cures cancer that has metastasized because the medicines can travel throughout the body. It occurs in cycles, giving the body time to heal itself between doses.
Chemo can also kill good cells that multiply. Good cells are found in the digestive tract, bone marrow and hair follicles. This results to hair loss, decrease blood cells production and inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract.
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