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Chemotherapy-Related Nausea & Vomiting
Author Bio
Currently selected section: Introduction
What Causes Nausea & Vomiting?
Automatic Nervous System
Chemotherapy Induced NV
NV Control
Issues in Research Design
Case Study 1
Case Study 2
Summary


Chapter 11: Chemotherapy-Related Nausea & Vomiting: Introduction
         For most people, nausea and vomiting (NV) are simply unfortunate consequences of overindulgent college days or over-enthusiastic amusement rides. Yet for most cancer patients, vomiting (also referred to as emesis) and nausea remain among the most frequent side effects of cancer chemotherapy.

The timeline below illustrates a critical shift in how patients view these side effects since attention was focused on the clinical and personal impact of cancer treatment-induced emesis and nausea in the early eighties.

In 1983 investigators report that patients rate treatment-induced emesis and nausea the #1 and #2 "most disturbing side effects of cancer treatments (Coates et al., 1983). In 1999, two studies report that while emesis moved down the list to #3 in one study and #5 in the other, nausea moved up to the #1 most disturbing side effect of cancer treatment (Klastersky et al., 1999). These two points are represented on a timeline from 1980 to 2005.


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Coates et al., 1983Klastersky  et al., 1999