Side Effects
Therapy for essential thrombocythemia (ET) can sometimes produce side effects. For most patients, treatment side effects are temporary and go away once therapy ends. For others, the side effects can be more severe, sometimes requiring hospitalization. And yet, other patients never have side effects.
Before you undergo treatment, talk with your doctor about potential side effects. Drugs and other therapies can prevent or manage many side effects.
Chemotherapy Side Effects
Chemotherapy drugs are the main culprits when it comes to causing unwanted side effects. These drugs can kill cancer cells, but they damage normal cells, too. The lining of the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines are particularly vulnerable to damage.
The side effects you may experience depend on:
- the intensity of chemotherapy
- the drugs used during therapy
- your overall health and whether you have any chronic health conditions like diabetes or kidney disease
Side effects common to chemotherapy include:
- infections
- low blood cell counts
- mouth sores
- nausea and vomiting
- diarrhea
- constipation
- extreme fatigue
- anemia
- fever
- cough
- rashes
- hair loss
- weakness
- tingling sensations
- lung, heart, kidney or nerve problems
- infertility
Drug Therapy Side Effects
Side effects of anagrelide (Agrylin®) include:
- fluid retention
- heart and blood pressure problems
- headaches
- dizziness
- nausea
- diarrhea
Side effects of interferon alfa (Intron® A, Roferan-A®) include:
- moderately severe flu-like symptoms
- confusion
- depression
For side effects information, please see the free LLS publication Understanding Drug Therapy and Managing Side Effects and the FDA drug information webpage.
