Final answer:
The side effects of chemotherapy affect all tissues and organs in the body with rapidly dividing cells, not just cancer cells. The drugs used in chemotherapy disrupt cell division, leading to side effects in healthy tissues like hair follicles and the digestive system.
Step-by-step explanation:
Side Effects of Chemotherapy
The side effects of chemotherapy are primarily due to the effects of the drugs on all tissues and organs in the body that have a high turnover rate or rapid division of cells. While the aim is to target cancer cells, due to a lack of specificity, these drugs also impact normal cells, particularly those in the skin, hair, gastrointestinal tract, and bone marrow. Cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, often disrupt the cell cycle to prevent the proliferation of cancerous cells but unfortunately also affect healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those in hair follicles, leading to side effects like hair loss, nausea, and potential injury to the digestive system and bone marrow. This broad impact occurs because the drugs interfere with cell division, a process which is not exclusive to cancer cells but is characteristic of all rapidly dividing cells, causing damage to healthy tissues as well.