What are the Side Effects of Cancer Treatments?
Cancer treatments help make a person healthy by making the cancer go away. But, sometimes, the treatments can affect other parts of the body besides the cancer. Doctors call these “side effects” because they happen as a result of the treatments. Some common side effects that kids being treated for cancer will have are described below: • Some cancer treatments can make kids throw up and feel nauseous, like they have a really bad stomachache. Doctors can give kids medicine to help these feelings go away. • Another side effect of cancer treatment is that foods taste and smell funny. Some kids say that food tastes bitter or like metal when they are having cancer treatments. They may not be able to eat the foods they like because they don’t taste the same. • Other cancer treatments can make kids lose their hair. This can be really hard for some kids. They worry that people will make fun of them for having no hair. The good news is that hair grows back quickly after the cancer treatments are
