Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting

Two of the most common and taxing side effects of chemotherapy are nausea and vomiting.  Approximately  70-80%  of people suffer from nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. In the medical field, this is known as CINV or chemotherapy induced nausea/vomiting. There are five categories of CINV’s: acute, delayed, anticipatory, breakthrough and refractory.   Acute CINV is nausea and vomiting that occurs in the first 24 hours after the chemotherapy treatment.  Delayed occurs 24 hours to five days after chemo.  Anticipatory CINV  occurs in patients who have experienced CINV with prior chemotherapy treatments. The nausea and/or vomiting can be triggered by the thought of chemo, a certain smell, sound or taste that reminds the person of their prior CINV experience and takes place before a treatment of chemo.  Breakthrough CINV occurs within 5 days of chemo in patients who are taking their prescribed nausea and vomiting regimen but are still experiencing nausea and/or vomiting.  Refractory CINV occurs in people that have had prior chemo treatments and are taking their prescribed prophylactic nausea and vomiting medications and yet still experience these symptoms.  

There are certain risk factors that increase a person’s chance of CINV.  Some of these risk factors are inherent and can not be altered.  These non-modifiable risk factors include being under the age of 50, female, having a prior history of morning sickness, motion sickness or nausea in a prior round of chemo or having surgery in the past three months.  The modifiable risk factors include current pain, constipation, not eating or sleeping well before your treatment, and having the expectation that you will have nausea.  There are many things that you can do to help prevent and treat CINV.  If you would like some advice on how to alleviate these awful side effects reach out to me at alexandra.kile@yourguidetocancer.com.