Side effects of ABVD chemotherapy are inevitable. However, there are remedies to get over with these. ABVD chemotherapy is generally given as a treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma or Hodgkin’s disease . This is a combination of four drugs- Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vincristine and Dacarbazine. These drugs are given intravenously once every two weeks and one is given in the form of a drip.

Some of the side effects of ABVD chemotherapy are-

Nausea & sickness: There could be nausea despite taking the anti sickness medication. This is due to reduced appetite and vomiting. It is important to keep yourself hydrated in this situation.

Red urine: The Adriamycin injection is red in color. Hence, you could have red urine after this chemotherapy session. This is absolutely normal.

Flu-like symptoms: You could get flu-like symptoms within 24 hours after the bleomycin therapy.

In case of low blood counts there could be following symptoms-

• White Blood Cells (WBC) - If you feel hot or unwell, it is important to check your temperature as a raised temperature could be life threatening. A normal temperature is between 36-38 degrees Celsius. If it beyond that, contact your doctor immediately and do not take paracetamol or aspirin as these drugs would reduce the temperature and hide the signs of infection.
• Hemoglobin (Hb) - This is due to a low red cells count. There could be tiredness, lethargy, breathlessness, dizziness and pale skin.
• Platelets - Contact your doctor immediately in case of any unreasonable bleeding, nosebleeds, bruises, continuous headache, etc.

Contact to chicken pox: It is important to check if you have immunity against the varicella virus, otherwise a course of injections could be administered to provide temporary immunity against chicken pox and shingles.

Fatigue: Fatigue is inevitable after any chemotherapy session. Do moderate exercise or short walk for this. This could last up to 3 months.

Weight Gain: Weight gain happens due to various reasons like depression, anxiety, inactivity, steroids, etc. Taking a balanced diet and a light exercise is recommended for this.

Weight loss: In this case, a balanced diet along with certain nutritional supplements could be recommended.

Sore mouth: Maintain a good oral hygiene and drink plenty of water to prevent a dry mouth. Ask you doctor for topical medication for mouth ulcers.

Hair loss: There could be thinning of hair, total hair loss, loss of hair on the body, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc. This side effect is temporary and the hair will grow back once the treatment is over although the color and texture could be different.

Fertility: Chemotherapy could affect menstruation making it irregular. The periods become light, heavy or totally stop. You are not allowed to conceive during chemotherapy as these drugs damage the fetus. As far as men are concerned, chemotherapy affects their sperm count and the quality of sperms.

Constipation: Take a high fiber diet and plenty of water and fluids. Moderate exercise also prevents constipation.

Altered sensation: : Chemotherapy affects the nerve endings and causes numbness, tingling or pins and needles. This usually subsides after the treatment. This is called chemotherapy in neuropathy.

Heart damage: Adriamycin chemotherapy can damage the heart at times. Hence, a heart function test is done before or during this chemotherapy. It is essential to stop smoking to reduce this risk.

Change in pigmentation: There could be brown patches on hand due to bleomycin therapy and would gradually fade.

Damage to the lungs: Bleomycin rarely damages the lungs in sensitive patients. In case of breathlessness, contact your doctor immediately.

Nails: The nail growth could be hampered along with slight discoloration of nails. This could cause pain or total loss of nail. However, new nail would eventually grow back.

Side effects of ABVD chemotherapy could be reduced by some these remedies. The patient needs to get a blood test done to check the total blood count before each cycle of ABVD chemotherapy. If the blood count is low then the treatment is postponed for a few days.