Cancer treatment side effects and your heart

After a cancer diagnosis, patients usually work with an oncologist to find the best cancer treatment plan for their condition. The best treatment destroys the cancer while limiting cancer treatment side effects.

Learn more about how cancer treatments can affect the body, including the heart.

Types of cancer treatment and how they work

There are many types of cancer treatment—from surgery and chemotherapy to radiation and immunotherapy. Because cancer cells often multiply fast, the purpose of cancer treatment is to get rid of those cells as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

However, some cancer treatments can cause incidental harm to parts of the body that don’t have cancer. It’s like taking an antibiotic when you have strep throat, for example. The antibiotic clears out both bad bacteria causing the infection and good bacteria that protect your gut. Similarly, cancer treatments can kill off the cancer but also damage healthy cells.

Common cancer treatment side effects

Cancer treatment affects nearly all parts of the body. But every patient’s experience is unique. So, how you feel may be different, even compared to someone with the same type of cancer. Side effects can be limited and mild, or they can be severe and continue after you finish treatment.

Side effects of radiation therapy

Side effects of radiation usually are specific to the area receiving treatment, causing symptoms such as a rash or burn. However, different types of radiation therapy vary in how they target cancer. A patient who receives systemic radiation therapy, which includes radioactive drugs that move throughout the body, may have broader symptoms that affect more of the body.

Side effects of chemotherapy

Like systemic radiation therapy, side effects of chemotherapy can also affect other parts of the body. You may experience:

• Blood disorders, since chemo affects blood cell production
• Fatigue
• Gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhea and constipation
• Hair loss
• Mouth and throat sores
• Pain

How cancer treatment can affect the heart

Sometimes, as chemotherapy and other cancer drugs treat cancer, they cause direct damage to the heart—called cardiotoxicity.

Cardiotoxicity can develop during cancer treatment or occur within days, months, or years after treatment, even when patients are cancer-free.

Hear about cardiotoxicity from Christopher Latour, MD, an LCMC Health cardiologist:

Side effects of cardiotoxicity

Heart damage from chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity can reduce quality of life. It can also increase the risk of death from heart-related issues, such as congestive heart failure, heart disease, or a heart rhythm abnormality.

Cardiotoxicity symptoms may include:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Heart palpitations
• Fluid retention in the lungs
• A swollen stomach (also called a distended abdomen)
• Dizziness

How to prevent and treat cardiotoxicity

When a patient is at a higher risk of cardiotoxicity or diagnosed with a heart health issue, their oncologist will work with a cardio-oncology specialist. This cardiologist monitors the risk for heart failure throughout cancer treatment. If signs of cardiotoxicity develop during treatment, the cardiologist may treat the cardiotoxicity without interrupting cancer treatments.

Together, cardiologists, oncologists, and cardio-oncologists work to deliver the cancer treatment that’s needed while protecting the heart’s function.

Find cancer care focused on all your needs

When you or a loved one has cancer, it helps to know you can get the expert care you need in your own parish. Receive the cancer treatments and other support you deserve with cancer care at LCMC Health.