3. Chemotherapy.
While chemotherapy can effectively kill cancer cells, it can also damage other healthy systems within the body. This form of cancer treatment often affects the bone marrow’s ability to produce platelets; therefore, patients who are receiving chemotherapy often suffer from low platelet counts.
Chemotherapy attacks and kills cells that are rapidly dividing within the body, which is why it is one of the most common treatments for cancer, as all types of cancer occur as a result of the rapid division of cells. However, while chemo effectively attacks and kills cancer cells, it also attacks and kills other cells that the body produces and rapidly divides, including those that are produced within the bone marrow.
The suppression of the bone marrow affects the cells that are produced within this spongy tissue, such as platelets; for this reason, patients who receive chemotherapy for cancer treatment often experience low platelet counts.