UC Irvine

Nausea and vomiting, common problems in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, are usually perceived as unavoidable side-effects of therapeutic agents. Although many patients do develop these symptoms following the administration of chemotherapeutic medications, nausea and vomiting are encountered in all other fields of clinical medicine including psychiatry,") and in addition they have been associated with the administration of nonchemotherapeutic agents.

In the course of treating cancer for over ten years, I have had many opportunities to observe advanced cancer and I have administered chemotherapy to innumerable patients. My experience has convinced me that nausea and vomiting are not always direct side-effects of chemotherapy, but rather may be surfacing manifestations of underlying psychological readjustment problems associated with life-threatening illness.