Question

3. What is cachexia?

4. What are some oral or digestive side effects of chemotherapy? (i.e. metallic taste)

Answer 1

3. What is cachexia?

Cachexia also called as wasting disorder or wasting diseases is a part of complex disease process in which rapid weight loss and muscle wasting that is not reversible in most cases with nutritional supply. This syndrome affects people who have serious medical conditions like cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease and congestive heart failure, etc. Cachexia can be caused by multiple medical conditions and is mostly associated with end stage cancer and it is mostly associated with a cancer patient on the verge of death. The exact mechanism is not clearly defined or known but the above mentioned associated syndrome are related in the Cachexia is observed

4. What are some oral or digestive side effects of chemotherapy? (i.e. metallic taste)

One of the side-effects of cancer patient taking chemotherapy is metallic mouth. The metallic taste or chemo mouth is caused due to changes in taste during and after cancer treatment in patients.These taste changes can lead to loss of appetite and weight loss and dislike to certain foods which one might have liked before due to altered taste. There are several causes for metallic mouth and one of them is the cancer or chemotherapy medications such as Cisplatin, Doxorubicin, Paclitaxel, etc. Another cause is he radiation therapy, where the targeted radiation to the head and the neck can cause altered salivary glands leading to taste change. there is not direct treatment of the metallic mouth disorder during cancer treatment but treating some of the causes can be helpful. The causes such as mouth infection, gum problems, dry mouth, etc when treated can help with improvement in taste.