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Dr. Mark Clemons has shown that using personal risk factors significantly improves control of nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients. Photo from Postmedia

Danielle Thuot struggled with the side effects of chemotherapy while she was being treated at The Ottawa Hospital for breast cancer

“The first few days were very challenging, and the first 12 to 24 hours were incredibly tough,” she explained. As for many patients with cancer, the nausea and vomiting can feel almost worse than the disease. Sometimes, they can be so debilitating that patients actually give up on treatment altogether.

Traditionally, physicians have approached these harrowing symptoms with a fixed menu of anti-nausea drugs and dosages laid out in a set of established guidelines.

However, a new research study led by Dr. Mark Clemons, oncologist and associate cancer research scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, has shown that a personalized approach to treatment is far more effective than this one-size-fits-all approach.

“This is the first time it’s been shown anywhere in the world that using personal risk factors significantly improves control of nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients,” said Dr. Clemons. Results of the study demonstrated that women under age 40, those with a history of pregnancy-associated morning sickness or travel sickness, or those who consumed relatively low amounts of alcohol were much more likely to suffer serious nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy than other patients.

“Anti-nausea drugs potentially have their own side-effects, and it’s very expensive for the health-care system to simply give them to every patient regardless of effectiveness,” Dr. Clemons explained. “We think these findings can lead to a much better, much kinder, much gentler way of treating cancer patients.”

Thuot agreed wholeheartedly. When she was diagnosed three years ago with invasive lobular breast cancer, Dr. Clemons was beginning to integrate early findings from the study into his own clinical practice.

“Dr. Clemons offered me a lot of options to deal with the nausea and pain, and every time we would change, it got a little bit better,” she said. “An individualized program makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I really appreciate everything Dr. Clemons is doing. Ottawa is lucky to have him.”

The results of Dr. Clemons’ randomized trial of 324 breast cancer patients receiving care at The Ottawa Hospital were recently published in the prestigious medical journal JAMA-Oncology.

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