WFH with Cancer — Neuropathy
I wanted to discuss one of the more common side-effects of chemotherapy treatment, and that is neuropathy.
- What is Neuropathy?
- What are the signs?
- What are the stages?
- What can we do to ease Neuropathy?
- Does it go away?
- What is Neuropathy?
Neuropathy (also called peripheral neuropathy or nerve damage) is a common side effect of chemotherapy. Doctors believe it happens because chemotherapy damages healthy cells, including nerves. Chemotherapy can damage nerves that affect feeling and movement in the hands and feet. Doctors call this condition chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). About 30–40% of patients will suffer some form of neuropathy, but letting your team know early is important as they can adjust your meds accordingly.
For me, neuropthy started in cycle 3 of my treatment and only affected my feet. It started with some muscle cramping at first, and restless feet where I wanted to just move them more and more. I found walking helped to ease, but letting my doctor know meant that my final round chemo strength was reduced slightly to overcome this. About 2 weeks after my last injection, I found that at night my feet were really sore and felt cold, but were warm to touch. I found it difficult to get to sleep as the sensation made me restless and I needed to move my feet more and more as the days and weeks went on. This sensation was made worse by the colder weather. Sometimes socks in bed helped, and sometimes it just made it worse.
What are the signs?
Pain, Numbness, Muscle Weakness, and sensation changes are the main signs you might recognise during your cancer treatment. Other signs might be tiredness, dizziness, and mood swings. You might experience all of these, or only 1 or 2, but be aware of any slight changes and inform your doctor so treatment can start earlier. These changes can occur during treatment, or maybe a week or 2 after treatment stops, but knowing the signs and informing your doctors earlier does help in treating the symptoms sooner rather than later.
What are the stages?
The stages differ from person to person, but it might well start with pins and needles in your hands or feet before changing to numbness, tingling, or even burning sensations in the affected areas. The changes might be subtle at the start, and changes in weather or your routine might make some things stand out more than others.
What can we do to ease Neuropathy?
There is no clear treatment for neuropathy that will improve nerve damage, but a combination of pain medications, vitamins, lotions and exercise can help you manage symptoms.
Pain medications should be discussed with your doctor and can ease the pain that you might have. For me I found that wearing socks in bed, using a foot spa, and even wearing thicker socks around the house help to keep my feet warm and the circulation flowing helped a lot. A hot water bottle in the middle of the night, or turning the electric blanket on again for a few minutes helped too. Exercises such as walking help, but also movement exercises for DVT (Deep Vain Thrombosis) help as movement around the hands and feet can help to get the blood flow back in those areas and help improve your circulation. If you take baths, get yourself a bath thermometer to check the temperature before getting into the bath as you might not feel the boiling hot water.
If you have neuropathy in your hands, you might experience difficulties in doing daily tasks such as buttoning a shirt, or even holding items. Be even more careful around knives or scissors and make sure you are wearing gloves for gardening, cleaning or even cooking if you are not able to feel temperature changes.
For me, the neuropathy was in my feet so I found that working standing up helped a lot. My job got me a sit/stand desk converter and I spend ½ of my day standing for work and rest sitting. That means that my feet are moving more and the circulation is also moving around my legs and feet.
Does it go away?
The simple answer is yes, but it will take time. Chemo-induced neuropathy symptoms are usually the worst 3–5 months after the last chemotherapy dose. After that, symptoms may disappear completely, lessen, or affect less of the body; if symptoms disappear or diminish, that occurs gradually, usually over several months. Winter months when the weather is colder could well be the worst as you try to keep the circulation flowing in the affected areas, but keep up the exercise routines, and if it gets worse make sure that you are letting your doctors know.
For me, my neuropathy went away after the chemo for my Stem Cell harvest. Within a few days of getting that high dose of chemo it had disappeared. Its now 2 months and it has not come back, but I am making sure that I exercise and keep my feet moving during the day.
Remember, if you start feeling any sensations or changes to your hands or feet do tell your doctors and nurses so that they can adjust your medications and give you something to help with the neuropathy.
The Irish Cancer Society website has information on Nerve Damage under the Coping with Side Effects section so check that out for more information.
