Nausea: What Causes It and How to Get Relief
Cancer treatments can cause nausea, but there are medicines that can make you feel better.
Treatments that can cause nausea
Nearly all treatments for breast cancer can cause nausea.
Chemotherapy medicines affect rapidly dividing cells, like cancer cells. But other cells in your body, including the cells in your digestive tract, also divide rapidly. Some chemotherapy drugs may directly affect the parts of the brain that can make you feel nauseated. This is why nearly all chemotherapy medicines can cause nausea.
While rare, some people have nausea as a side effect of radiation therapy.
Though any of the hormonal therapy medicines used to treat breast cancer may cause nausea, the selective estrogen downgraders (SERDs) — Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant) and Orserdu (chemical name: elacestrant) — are the most likely to make you feel nauseated.
Many targeted therapy medicines can cause nausea as a side effect. The antibody-drug conjugates, which link a chemotherapy medicine to a targeted therapy medicine, are the most likely to lead to nausea.
The two immunotherapy medicines used to treat breast cancer, Jemperli (chemical name: dostarlimab-gxly) and Keytruda (chemical name: pembrolizumab) both may cause nausea.
Many of the medicines people take to control pain may cause nausea, including both non-opioid medicines and opioid medicines.
How to stop nausea
There are a number of ways to get rid of nausea: Medicines and changing what – and how – you eat are probably the most common. Some complementary and holistic techniques — such as acupuncture, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization — also can help.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has guidelines on which anti-nausea medicines should be used during cancer treatment, based on the treatments causing the nausea.
People receiving cisplatin and other anti-cancer medicines with a high risk of causing nausea and vomiting should be offered a combination of:
a neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist; Emend (chemical name: aprepitant) is one example
a serotonin (5-HT3) receptor antagonist; Zofran (chemical name: ondansetron) is one example
Decadron (chemical name: dexamethasone)
Zyprexa (chemical name: olanzapine); some people say they feel overly drowsy with the standard 10 mg dose of Zyprexa, a 5 mg dose is also available and seems to cause less drowsiness
People receiving an anthracycline and Cytoxan (chemical name: cyclophosphamide) should be offered a combination of medicines like Emend and Zofran, plus Decadron.
People treated with carboplatin should be offered a combination of medicines like Emend and Zofran, plus Decadron.
People treated with anti-cancer medicines other than carboplatin with a moderate risk of causing nausea and vomiting should be offered a combination of a medicine like Emend plus Decadron.
People treated with Cytoxan, Adriamycin, Doxil, Eloxatin (chemical name: oxaliplatin), and other anticancer medicines with a moderate risk of causing nausea and vomiting that are known to cause delayed nausea and vomiting may be offered Decadron.
People treated with anti-cancer medicines with a low risk of causing nausea and vomiting should be offered a single dose of a medicine like Zofran or a single 8 mg dose of Decadron before anticancer treatment.
People treated with radiation therapy with a high risk of causing nausea and vomiting should be offered a combination of Decadron and a medicine like Zofran.
If you’re taking anti-nausea medicines, but still have nausea, your doctor may recommend additional medicines.
Ativan (chemical name: lorazepam) can offer benefits when given with anti-nausea medicines, but shouldn’t be used by itself to control nausea and vomiting.
If you haven’t taken Zyprexa, it may be recommended.
If you’ve taken Zyprexa, your doctor may recommend a different class of anti-nausea medicine along with your current regimen.
Eating when you have nausea can be difficult, but it’s important to get the nutrients you need to recover and heal during breast cancer treatment. It can help to eat small portions of food all day long so you don’t feel too full.
Dry foods, like crackers and cereal, may be less likely to upset your stomach than greasy, creamy foods. Ginger-based foods, like ginger ale and ginger tea, can help ease nausea. Some people say that rinsing their mouth with water before and after eating helps control nausea.
Read what our members are saying about nausea in our community discussion forums.
— Last updated on July 30, 2025 at 4:11 PM
