Does chemotherapy for my breast cancer cause GI discomfort?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 43-year-old woman recently diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, and I have been living with celiac disease for nearly a decade. I have always maintained a strict gluten-free diet and managed my symptoms well. Still, ever since I started chemotherapy, I have been dealing with severe gastrointestinal discomfort, including bloating, cramping, and unpredictable bowel movements. I am also experiencing nausea and loss of appetite, which is making it even harder to stick to my limited food options.

My energy levels have dropped significantly, and I am starting to feel weak and concerned about nutritional deficiencies. I am worried that the chemotherapy drugs may be aggravating my celiac condition or damaging my already sensitive digestive system. I am doing my best to eat what I can, but I am scared that it might not be enough to support my recovery or tolerate the treatment. Given that I have both breast cancer and celiac disease, should my treatment or dietary plan be adjusted in any specific way to avoid complications?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

I understand the amount of fatigue you have, especially since you have celiac disease and are also going through chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is known to cause a bit of gastrointestinal tract upset, and this includes everything from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and bloating. But the good thing is that all of this is reversible. Meaning, as soon as we stop the course of chemotherapy, all these things go away and disappear. During the period in which we give the treatment, it is preferable that we also follow up with a specialist so they can stabilize your treatment. But with chemotherapy, we give antiemetics and things for gastrointestinal tract treatment to reduce all the side effects. There will be a deficiency in vitamins and iron, so you must take supplements. Once we finish chemotherapy and complete the treatment, all these effects are reversible and return to normal, including hair loss, which will grow back as it did before, and all the other symptoms will disappear. After that, we complete the surgery and the radiotherapy stage.

If your tumor was hormone-positive, we would take hormonal therapy with it for ten years as a kind of prevention. It also has very few side effects and does not affect your disease. So do not think that the tumor will increase your stage in the disease. It is just some disturbances that occur during the treatment, but after that, everything returns to exactly as before. The hormonal therapy does not affect the disease at all. The treatment plan includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and Tamoxifen. Regarding follow-up, it is recommended to do so after seven days.

I hope you are satisfied with my answer. For further queries, you can consult me at iCliniq.

Thank you.