Handling Nausea with Chemotherapy During Ovarian Cancer Treatment

"When you think about someone on chemotherapy, you just assume that you're going to be nauseous all the time," says Dr. Leslie Boyd, gynecologist at NYU Langone Health.

In fact, however, the American Cancer Society says that some types of chemotherapy can make women sick, while others will not. The factors that affect whether that will happen include the kind of drugs used, how frequently the drugs are administered, the dosage, the other drugs that women might be taking, whether they have brain tumors and the fact that the response from each woman will not be the same to the same drugs.

Over the years, according to Boyd, the ability to create medicine has evolved and the medications produced have become much more successful at blocking the side effect for women undergoing chemotherapy. Doctors will prescribe two to three medications at any time to block nausea, which can be very successful, according to Boyd.

The majority of her patients, she says, complain of occasional nausea but almost never vomit.

The American Cancer Society says that it is easier to prevent nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy than to start chemotherapy once it stops. There is no medication that can completely halt nausea and vomiting at all times.

To determine what is best for their patients on an individual basis, doctors consider different factors in deciding what kind of medicine to prescribe for their patients. Before they choose the best option, they look at how likely it is the chemo assigned to their patient will cause nausea and vomiting and will look at how the chemo that is being administered will impact the "vomiting center" in the brain. They will also ask questions about the woman's history of nausea and vomiting and ask if any of the anti-nausea medicines have worked for that woman in the past.

Not only do they consider the side effect they are treating with anti-nausea meds, doctors consider the side effects of those medications themselves.

Administration of the anti-nausea and vomiting medication begins before chemotherapy starts and is prescribed starting at the lowest effective dose. As women undergo chemotherapy, doctors monitor their experience and will make drug changes as seen fit according to the American Cancer Society.

What the majority of her patients are worrying about now, Boyd says, is weight gain. "The majority of my patients gain weight during chemo because they're not that nauseous and because of that they tend to overeat because it gives them a sense of well-being."

In addition to the medications that doctors can prescribe to block nausea, doctors are also recommending medications for neuropathy, according to Boyd, including glutamine and vitamin B6 in low doses. Studies show that these may not be as successful but doctors are still using them since they can be beneficial to some women.

Side effects of chemotherapy can sometimes also be alleviated with cannabis, which you can learn more here.

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