Chemotherapy Bone Marrow

Chemotherapy is a mode of treatment to cure various types of cancers and the side effects associated with this mode of treatment are both temporary as well as permanent. The temporary side effects disappear after the completion of treatment cycle while those that are permanent leave behind certain side effects destroying the proper functioning of the body’s internal organs. Suppression of the bone marrow is one of the most common side effects associated with chemotherapy.

Due to the suppression of the bone marrow the body loses its ability to produce the blood cells. Chemotherapy is known to attack these blood cells i.e. the RBC, WBC and the platelets which are present in the bone marrow.

The spongy substance which is known to fill up the bones is the bone marrow and this contains the blood cells. These blood cells keep dividing to form newer blood cells which in turn keep circulating in the entire body and the decrease in the blood count leads to a number of other body problems.

As you known chemotherapy is known to destroy the cancerous cells in the body but also destroys the normal healthy cells. When the bone marrow is suppressed the production of these blood cells are reduced thus making your body more immune to external forces i.e. diseases as the WBC loses its capacity to fight against these germs and bacteria’s.

WBC or white blood cells - These are the most important part of the immune system as they help the body fight against foreign agents like infection etc. Due to chemotherapy the WBC are the first to be destroyed as their life span was very short. Prophylactic antibiotic is prescribed to the patients to avoid the interference of the chemotherapy treatment and also help the body fight against bacteria and germs.

RBC or red blood cells - These are the carriers of oxygen to all the parts of the body and this is possible due to the hemoglobin that is present in the blood, decrease in the level of this leads to anemic condition. Anemia can be detected if the patient has regular spells of dizziness, fatigue, low blood pressure, headaches etc. Low RBC leads to inadequate supply of oxygen to the body thus leading to the damage of the internal body organs.

In some cases due to chemotherapy the patients need blood transfusion thus helping increase the level of RBC in the blood. Compared to WBC the life span of RBC is around 3 months thus the decrease in the RBC level in the body may not cause much harm for a few weeks.

Platelets - The most important function of this is to help the clotting process in the body and the life span of the platelets is about 10 days and the decrease in the level of platelets in the body is felt almost immediately. Decrease in the platelet count leads to excessive bleeding, nose bleeds, easy bruising, passing of blood in the stool and sometimes even in the urine.

Low platelet count also leads to internal bleeding and loss of blood can also lead to damage of the internal organs.