Paclitaxol and Peripheral Neuropathy
I had an interesting discussion with my onc, yesterday. Now, he's a gently spoken and very considered man and I've been told by other professionals that he's not one for pretence. He may have talked ...
Forum Discussion
@Sister I have five Paclitaxol to go. Peripheral neuropathy has been gradually getting worse. On Monday my white cells and neutrophils were very low (though not low enough to cancel chemo that day), and the oncologist said she's concerned about that, and my increasing fatigue (it was really bad last week), and the peripheral neuropathy (in case it becomes permanent). She raised the possibility of having a break from chemo and I reacted strongly. I said I want to push on. I can tolerate it, I said. She said the issue is if I become so weak it would be dangerous. So we'll see what happens next week - they may consider giving me a "booster" ???. A friend who is 2.5 years on said she was in the same situation at about the same stage of Paclitaxol and had four blood transfusions and felt much better after each one. So maybe that's what the oncologist is thinking of as a booster - or something else. So next Monday will be key.
I HATE the thought of having a break from chemo - for fear that it may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment, for the weird idea that I "should" be strong enough to just keep going and not give up, and because I just want to get it over with and get on to radiation and be done with all the treatment.
I don't like the idea of having permanent neuropathy; I guess I'd learn to live with it. My fingers tingle in a very uncomfortable way when I type. I'm finding it hard to believe that I'll ever feel "normal" again. It seems there'll always be some physical remnants of this whole deal - maybe very significant ones.
The tingling feet cause problems going to sleep and disturbs my sleep and the skin from arch to toes feels as if it's stretched tight. Someone mentioned warm foot baths; sometimes that helps a bit. Moisturising is a problem for me because I had an only partially successful knee replacement 2.5 years ago and have very little bend in left knee so I can't reach my left foot well enough to rub cream in properly. My fingers are constantly numb and/or tingling. My daughter has suggested that for safety I should stop cooking (I cut my finger last week). I'm taking that advice and have had a Coles delivery of lots of frozen ready meals. Friends who frequently deliver home-made portions will also continue to do so.
Oddly, I've had more nausea the past couple of weeks (about day 3) than I had on AC.
The one bright spot in this past few days, with worrying about all this, has been watching online live stream of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the political scandal in France - at one stage I was so riveted I didn't think about cancer for three hours! A French political crisis = my mental health therapy.
I HATE the thought of having a break from chemo - for fear that it may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment, for the weird idea that I "should" be strong enough to just keep going and not give up, and because I just want to get it over with and get on to radiation and be done with all the treatment.
I don't like the idea of having permanent neuropathy; I guess I'd learn to live with it. My fingers tingle in a very uncomfortable way when I type. I'm finding it hard to believe that I'll ever feel "normal" again. It seems there'll always be some physical remnants of this whole deal - maybe very significant ones.
The tingling feet cause problems going to sleep and disturbs my sleep and the skin from arch to toes feels as if it's stretched tight. Someone mentioned warm foot baths; sometimes that helps a bit. Moisturising is a problem for me because I had an only partially successful knee replacement 2.5 years ago and have very little bend in left knee so I can't reach my left foot well enough to rub cream in properly. My fingers are constantly numb and/or tingling. My daughter has suggested that for safety I should stop cooking (I cut my finger last week). I'm taking that advice and have had a Coles delivery of lots of frozen ready meals. Friends who frequently deliver home-made portions will also continue to do so.
Oddly, I've had more nausea the past couple of weeks (about day 3) than I had on AC.
The one bright spot in this past few days, with worrying about all this, has been watching online live stream of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the political scandal in France - at one stage I was so riveted I didn't think about cancer for three hours! A French political crisis = my mental health therapy.