Properly hydrating and thoroughly flushing one’s system on a daily basis during cancer treatment is the simplest and most basic first line of defense toward minimizing the side effects commonly associated with chemotherapy. It’s just good common sense.
One of my biggest concerns when facing chemotherapy for the first time was the side effects I might experience. During my chemotherapy orientation my ongologists advised me to drink a minimum of 64 oz of water daily so that dead cancer cells, toxins, and excess chemicals would be quickly flushed from my system. This made sense to me and I took this very seriously. I saw this as my easiest and most affective way to minimize side effects.
I immediately order a 40 oz water bottle from Amazon. I stayed true to my goal to drink 2 of these each day. On infusion days, I drank 3. Yes, I had lots of trips to the restroom each day. My goal was to see nearly clear urine.
Other than loss of hair and some late day fatigue, I experienced no side effects. My doctor commented that my minimum-side-effects experience was a 1% occurrence. Whether this result was because of my devotion to this daily level of water intake or just good luck, I do not know. However, I do believe from my experience that committing to the daily recommended water intake is the easiest and most practical first line of defense against side effects from chemotherapy. It just makes sense.
Here are some links to some articles on the importance of fully hydrating during cancer treatment.
https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2020/06/staying-hydrated
https://advancedovariancancer.net/living/chemo-dehydration
https://www.americanoncology.com/blogs/the-importance-of-staying-hydrated-for-cancer-patients