Is chemotherapy for rectal cancer painful?

Is chemotherapy for rectal cancer painful?

The cause of rectal cancer is not very clear, and its onset is related to social environment, eating habits, genetic factors, etc. Rectal polyps are also a high-risk factor for rectal cancer. At present, excessive intake of animal fat and protein and insufficient intake of dietary fiber are high-risk factors for rectal cancer. Rectal cancer has the following symptoms. When rectal cancer grows to a certain extent, bowel habits will change, such as bloody stools, bloody stools, urgency, constipation, diarrhea, etc. The stool gradually becomes thinner, and in the late stage there is defecation obstruction, weight loss and even cachexia. When the tumor invades the surrounding organs such as the bladder, urethra, and vagina, symptoms of urinary tract irritation, feces flowing out of the vagina, pain in the sacrum and perineum, and lower limb edema will occur.

Chemotherapy is divided into the following categories:

First, radical chemotherapy. Some cancers that are sensitive to chemotherapy drugs, such as leukemia and lymphoma, choriocarcinoma and germ cell malignancies, can be cured by simple chemotherapy. This type of chemotherapy aimed at curing cancer is called radical chemotherapy.

Second, palliative chemotherapy, when most advanced cancer cells have been widely metastasized, the current level of technology can no longer cure them. The main purpose of chemotherapy is to control the development of cancer, prolong the patient's life, or improve the patient's quality of life through chemotherapy. This type of chemotherapy is called palliative chemotherapy.

Third, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Although the tumor has been removed, potential metastasis that cannot be detected clinically may have occurred, or a small number of cancer cells may fall off around the surgical wound. Chemotherapy is used to kill these residual cancer cells to prevent cancer recurrence and metastasis.

Chemotherapy is a chemical drug treatment, a method of controlling tumors with drugs. Rectal cancer chemotherapy is very painful because the side effects of chemotherapy on patients are very painful. Common side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, etc., often make patients physically and mentally tired and painful. Some patients are forced to stop chemotherapy, affecting the treatment effect.