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Side Effects Of Chemotherapy Essay

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Everyone deserves to live life, unrestrained by ailments. Whether they are terminal or temporary, ailments affect much more than just the person they afflict. 1991 is a year that will be remembered in infamy for my family. In May of 1991, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news hit my family like a freight train, both spiritually and emotionally. The following months were hard, and by speculation I can imagine the pain they felt. My grandmother began going through chemotherapy, a process that bears a chilling connotation. In the following months, both my grandmother and family struggled under the circumstances that haunted them. Along with chemotherapy, my grandmother also underwent a mastectomy, which is a removal off all breast tissue as an attempt to remove the cancer. Through chemotherapy, she developed taste loss; unfortunately, her taste loss still persists to this day. Even though I was not alive to experience my grandmother’s struggle, I have directly experienced the side effects of her treatment, which impact me greatly. My grandmother can no longer taste anything but extremely spicy flavors. I try to imagine the disability in my own life, and it makes me cringe to imagine the feeling. Taste is a simple, natural, and often taken for granted sense that is all but …show more content…

Contrary to popular belief, chemotherapy is actually many different types of drugs, not just a single treatment from a central drug. The drugs that are now used do not only target cancer cells, but also all cells that divide regularly. I feel it is my calling to begin to research and develop a chemotherapy that is able to directly target malignant cancer cells and simultaneously not damage other frequently dividing cells of the human body. A chemo treatment that only targets cancer cells would cease many side effects such as hair loss, taste loss, and oral

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