Side effects of lung cancer chemotherapy

• A quick guide to what's on this page
• What side effects are and why you get them
• Low blood cell levels
• Feeling tired and run down
• Feeling sick
• Taste changes
• Sore mouth and mouth ulcers
• Diarrhoea
• Hair loss or thinning

Side effects are the unwanted effects of any treatment. Chemotherapy drugs kill cells that are dividing. Cancer cells divide more often than normal cells. But some normal body cells divide quickly and so are also affected by chemo. These include your skin, hair, nails, the lining of your digestive system and your blood cells. Unlike cancer cells, these normal body tissues can recover. This is why you usually have a couple of weeks break between treatments - it allows your normal body tissues to get over the effects of the chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy affects different people in different ways. Your doctor can tell you what may happen, but can't tell beforehand what treatment will be like for you. It isn't something you can predict beforehand. Some people are more affected by side effects than others. Many people lead normal lives during their treatment and can even carry on working. Others find they are very tired and have to take things more slowly. Side effects may seem hard to bear at the time. But most disappear when your treatment ends.

Remember that not all chemotherapy drugs cause the same side effects and some people have very few. There is detailed information about the side effects of specific drugs in the cancer treatment section.

This page gives information about the common side effects of lung cancer chemotherapy.

Your blood cells also divide rapidly, so chemotherapy can lower the number of healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets you have. This can mean you

• Are more likely to get infections
• May be more tired than usual
• Can be prone to nosebleeds and other bleeding problems

If you develop a temperature above 38°C or think you have an infection, it is very important to contact the hospital immediately. You may need urgent treatment with antibiotics. Your doctor or chemotherapy nurse will give you an emergency number to phone if you need to.

It isn't practical to try to avoid all germs while you are having chemo, but it is important to keep away from anyone you know who has an infection and avoid crowded, cramped places (such as public transport).

There is information about the effect of chemotherapy on your blood cells in the main chemotherapy section of CancerHelp UK.

Some people are able to carry on almost as normal when they are having chemotherapy. But many others become very tired. The further through your course of chemotherapy treatment you are, the more likely you are to feel tired and run down. If this is happening to you, try to take things more slowly. If you feel like having a lie down or putting your feet up, then you probably need to do just that.

Don't struggle on trying to cope with everything you did before you were ill. It may help to ask other people to do some things for you so that you can rest if you need to. We have information about coping with tiredness in CancerHelp UK. The tiredness may last for some months after your treatment has ended. How quickly you get back to normal will depend on your general health, on the amount of treatment you've had and on other treatments you have had.

Sickness is a common chemotherapy side effect. Some drugs only make you feel mildly sick. Others can make some people vomit a lot and feel very sick. There is a page about coping with sickness in the chemotherapy section. Nausea and sickness can now usually be well controlled with anti sickness drugs. Tell your doctor or nurse if you feel sick as they can prescribe other anti sickness drugs, which may suit you better.

Some chemotherapy drugs can affect your sense of taste. Foods may taste metallic, salty or bitter, or may not taste of anything. These changes should go away after your treatment ends. There is information about coping with taste changes in the chemotherapy side effects section.

Quite a few chemotherapy drugs cause mouth ulcers or soreness in the mouth. To try to prevent infection, it is important to keep your mouth clean. It is best to use a very soft (or baby) toothbrush to avoid damaging the lining of your mouth. If you are likely to get a sore mouth, you will be given mouthwashes to use every day to help prevent infection. If the soreness gets very bad, you may need painkillers until it has healed. We have information about coping with a sore mouth in the chemotherapy side effects section.

Some chemotherapy drugs cause diarrhoea. This can be mild or more severe. If you have diarrhoea for more than 2 or 3 days, you must tell your doctor. You could become dehydrated, and may need to have anti diarrhoea tablets or medicines.

Your doctor or specialist nurse can also give you advice about what to eat or drink if you have diarrhoea. You may also find our information about coping with diarrhoea helpful.

Not all drugs cause complete hair loss. Some don't cause hair loss at all. Some nearly always do. With others your hair may just get thinner during the treatment.

Your hair will grow back once the treatment is over. Ask your doctor or nurse whether you are likely to lose your hair. Then you can plan how to cope with this. Many people wear hats, scarves or wigs. It can be less upsetting to cut your hair short, or even have your head shaved, if you know you are going to lose your hair. 

Find out about getting a free wig on the NHS. Ask your doctor or nurse about it as soon as you know you will be having chemotherapy. It can take some time to arrange and you have to be an in patient when it is ordered and collected.

We have a page about coping with hair loss from chemotherapy.