hi everyone ,i have finished all my treatment now for breast cancer .my last radiotherapy session was 21st of jan09. i had chemo last year starting in july 08 on the EC regime then after three months of that every three weeks went on to pacitaxol this was stopped after my fourth cycle due to bad side effects including numbness of fingers & toes plus very bad bone pain. these symptoms have never stopped .yesterday i was talking to my macmillan nurse & mentioned the symptoms & she was quite shocked she then asked my gp to vist me which he did this morning to do some neurologial tests which included me closing my eyes while he stuck pins in me .anyway to cut a long story short he then imformed me that the numbness could be a sign that the cancer could have come back this time in my spinal chord to say i was shocked is an understatment but i am sure that i have read somewhere that chemo effects can last a long time sometimes being permenant . i would rather have the effects than the cancer back as i am sure you will all agree. i was only told at christmas that every thing was clear so to be told this now seems so unfair . so i would be gratefull if anyone out there has had the same problems with effects from pacitaxol thanks for listening love n hugs theresa xxxxxxx
don't know what the last post was about but anyway, i've been getting awful pains in my legs especially when its cold. i was told it might be the results of the chemo thinning my bones and i was reccomended a bone density test , it also could be the result of going into early menopause. and for the past few weeks i've also had really clumsy fingers , lost count of the number of things i've broken because they've fallen out of my hands! not sure if its the numbness you are talking about but i could be holding something 1 minute the next its on the floor. i think after reading your post i might mention it to my gp.
hope you feel better soon and its nothing too sinister
I too had Taxol (finished 3 mths ago) and suffer numbness in the fingers and feet. My fingers are getting better but my feet from the balls of my feet to the ends of my toes, are still really numb and bother me a lot. My oncologist told me this can take months and even up to a year to get better. So far there has been no improvement in my feet and somedays I think even feel worse! I suppose it only makes sense that for the nerves to repair themselves it is going to take a reasonable amount of time
Take care, and hope everyones pain and numbness gets better soon
I can't really add to what everone else has said - haven't experienced this so far but am only half way through chemo. I just wanted to say I hope you get your ct soon and that it turns out to be nothing.
hi everyone thanks for your advice it has helped me so much . i wasn't worried about the numbness before just took as a side effect & that in time it would clear up. after reading your comments i now feel this way again as everyone seems to be discribing the same thing . the only other symptom i have is a painfull neck which hurts when i lay down but there again i have worked in care most of my life & did injury my neck years ago . & have had pain in that area before though it is more intense now. my oncologist told me though that this could be because of the chemo thining bones & also bone pain can often be related to bonemarrow repairing its self . so it was a bit of a shock yesterday when the gp said that,hopefully the scan will be soon i will let you all know what happens thank you all again so much your support means so much love n hugs theresa xxxxxx
