Guide To Chemotherapy Side Effects

Issues Breathing

An individual undergoing a treatment regimen that includes the use of chemotherapy may experience breathing issues. Chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancer cells by finding and eliminating cells in an individual's body that are in the process of cell division. A healthy individual's lungs have countless cells undergoing some stage in the cell division process at any given time. Therefore, the cells in an individual's lungs that are dividing can become damaged or even destroyed by the chemotherapy drugs being used. The death of numerous cells in an individual's lung causes the lung tissues to have decreased alveolar surface area, which means the air capacity of the lungs becomes reduced. A decreased air capacity means less oxygenated air is taken in with each breath, making it difficult for individuals to get an adequate amount of oxygen.

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