Side effects of chemotherapy can be daunting. Before commencing treatment, it’s normal to feel anxious about how your health and daily life will be affected. Not everybody experiences the same side effects. Even though the list of side effects seems never-ending, that doesn’t mean you’ll experience them all. You might get two, six or more from the list you’re given, but we only know for sure once we start the treatment. Chemotherapy affects people in different ways because every patient is unique and your body’s reaction depends on your current state of health or comorbidities. Therefore, consultations with your doctor…
Consulting with a palliative care team after receiving a diagnosis of cancer can provide you with the proper information and emotional and medical support needed to help you and your family navigate the often difficult journey ahead. Palliative care is an additional layer of support, and the team works alongside your doctor or oncologist to assist in providing the best possible care and support. Hearing that you have cancer can be terrifying. Seeing a palliative care provider when you receive your diagnosis will help you to manage this fear and anxiety and will help you get your life back under…
Radiotherapy is a treatment modality usually used to treat cancers. Occasionally non-cancerous conditions may also be treated. Radiotherapy is a high-energy, targeted X-ray treatment which kills tumour cells by damaging DNA. It’s usually delivered once a day on weekdays (Monday to Friday), excluding weekends and public holidays. The treatment, including set-up, takes about 15 minutes in most cases. Certain treatments may take longer. The overall treatment course may range from one day to several weeks, depending on each individual case. There are specially qualified staff, called radiotherapists, who work at radiotherapy units, and they position you every day and deliver…
Surgery may form part of your treatment plan; this decision will be made by your multi-disciplinary team. Remember your cancer journey is unique so just because someone else has the same cancer as you doesn’t mean your treatment plan will be exactly the same. They may have surgery and you may not. It’s also important to note that there are different surgical specialists for specific cancers who would perform the surgery. For example, a breast surgeon for breast cancer and a gynae-oncologist for gynaecological cancers, and so on. Always ask who will be performing your surgery. Another vital point to remember…
There are many different types of treatments for cancer. The choice of treatment depends on the cancer type as well as the stage of cancer. Type of treatment How it works How is it given Chemotherapy Targets cells at the different phases of growth into new cells. Because cancer cells form new cells quicker than normal cells, they are good targets for chemotherapy. Usually intravenously (via a drip) or via a port (device implanted under the skin into veins to deliver chemotherapy). Occasionally oral chemotherapy (tablets) can be used. Targeted therapy Targets specific mutation/ abnormality identified in the cancer which causes cancer growth. Usually oral tablets, occasionally intravenously. Immunotherapy Activates…
Many patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer side effects in silence. Dr Sarita Retief explains that this isn’t how it should be and implores patients to voice their chemo side effects. When seeing patients for their second chemotherapy session, I naturally ask them how the first session was to see if they had any chemo side effects. These are examples of the extreme different responses that I get: Mrs A will say that she did not feel anything at all. She went on with her normal life as if nothing happened. She even wonders if the Sister might have forgotten to…
Dr Sarita Retief talks us through some of the emotions you will feel after cancer treatment. When you have cancer therapy (chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery), at some stage it might feel that it will never end. Then suddenly, you have reached the end of your treatment. That great day, you’ve anticipated for months, have arrived. All your friends and family celebrate with you. Though, for some strange reason, it’s not all just joy, but a strange, eerie feeling is also there, a ‘So, what happens now?’ feeling. You are not alone. Everybody who undergoes treatment feels like that. While…
Dr Hugo Van Der Merwe simplifies the process of robotic surgery for our understanding. Robotic surgery is an enabling technology that allows a surgeon to perform more patient-friendly surgery. Currently there is only one commercially available robotic system called the Da Vinci Robotic System. How does it work? Basically, the surgeon will make (4 – 6) small incisions into the abdomen of the patient. Small ports are then placed through these incisions into the abdominal cavity. The surgeon will then connect, or dock, the robot onto these small ports. Fully-wristed instruments and a high-definition 3D camera are then introduced…
Dr Sarita Retief explains what to expect when you go for your first chemotherapy cycle. If there is one thing that COVID-19 has taught us all, is that it is very difficult to deal with an unknown future. And that is what everyone must go through at the start of chemotherapy. The day before anxiety creeps up and the night before you can hardly sleep. On the day that you start treatment, you are already emotionally exhausted. But then, after going through the first cycle, most people find that it was not nearly as bad as what they thought…
Dr Sarita Retief explains why chemotherapy is still the best oncology treatment that is available (for now). When I see a newly diagnosed patient for the first time, I often get these words, “I don’t want chemotherapy” within the first few sentences spoken. As if the patient couldn’t wait to get it off his/her chest. This is something people talk about casually over a dinner date or at braais. Usually after they have witnessed or heard about somebody dying of cancer; they then declare that they never want to go through such suffering and would never take such treatment…
We learn the ins and outs of the colostomy surgery procedure. What is a colostomy? A colostomy is an operation that creates an opening for the large bowel to exit through the abdominal wall. The end of the large bowel is stitched to the skin to form an opening, called a stoma. Why do I need a colostomy? A colostomy may be needed if, as the result of an illness, injury or problem with your digestive system, or you can’t pass stools through your anus. You may have a colostomy to treat: Colon/rectal cancer Crohn’s disease Diverticulitis Anal cancer Vaginal…
The landscape of radiotherapy is changing rapidly and the many innovative developments are making this an exciting field of medicine. Dr Mariza Tunmer, a specialist radiation oncologist, tells us more. As technology is improving across all aspects of medicine, radiotherapy (RT) too is advancing in numerous ways. Wilhelm Röntgen was the first to discover electromagnetic radiation in 1895. Around the same time, Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre, discovered the radioactive decay of certain elements. Over the next decades, the cancer-treating properties of irradiation were discovered and described, and the scientific discipline of radiotherapy was born. In more recent times, innovative technologies have been revolutionising radiotherapy…
