While you are undergoing radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy for melanoma, you may experience side effects that may make eating more difficult, food less appealing, and tasks more difficult to accomplish. Side effects vary in severity and duration from person to person. They may also vary with treatments, and during different phases of treatment and recovery. Often the most severe side effects occur in the early days of treatment and gradually subside as your body adjusts to treatment. Most side effects disappear after treatment ends.

Asymptomatic side effects of treatment do not produce obvious symptoms. They include decreased white blood cell production, elevations in liver enzymes, or changes in kidney function. Left untreated, these effects can eventually cause serious symptoms and conditions. Asymptomatic side effects are detected and monitored by blood tests. Depending on your treatment, you will receive regular blood tests for liver function, kidney function, and/or blood cell counts. Abnormal test results may indicate a need for modifications in your cancer therapy or for direct treatment of your side effects.

This section offers possible solutions for the prevention and management of symptomatic side effects. We recommend that you try different approaches until you find the ones that work best for you. Your doctor and other members of your healthcare team can help you find ways to address the problems you are experiencing.