Bone
marrow is the soft tissue found on the
inside of the large bones. The bones marrow quickly
produces two types of cells: the hemopoietic and stromal.
Stromal cells produce fat, cartilage, and bone, while
hemopoietic cells produce the blood cells: white blood
cells, red blood cells, and platelets. The bone marrow
produces these cells very quickly, so during chemotherapy,
the bone marrow and its cells is at risk for being destroyed
along with the cancer. Prostate cancer patients who
undergo chemotherapy may experience side effects such
as anemia, vulnerability to infection, injuries that
do not easily heal, and decreased blood
clotting. These side effects all come from chemotherapy’s
destruction of the bone marrow. Prostate cancer patients
once had to be admitted to the hospital and watched
around the clock in case blood transfusions were necessary.
Now, because of new drugs that counteract these side
effects, patients more often can recover from the side
effects of chemotherapy in their homes.
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