Women see more adverse events with chemotherapy and newer cancer treatments, study finds
When Crystal Ortner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, her doctors decided to tackle it with an extremely aggressive chemotherapy regimen that included six drugs, along with numerous surgeries.
During her initial round of treatment, Ortner experienced septic shock, causing her doctors to cease chemotherapy for a period of time because her body was too weak to handle it. Later, she said, her extreme side effects while on chemotherapy — constant vomiting, nausea, an overall feeling of complete debilitation — felt like “going to hell and back.”
