Loss of eye sight after chemotherapy

Hi Nel03

Thanks for getting in touch. Welcome to the online community.

My name is Paula and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.

I can see you have joined several cancer forums. I hope you’re finding it helpful sharing your experiences with others.

It’s good to hear your father is in remission but I’m sorry to hear he is possibly experiencing some late effects of his cancer treatment. It’s understandable you have concerns and it is reasonable to ask if other people have had similar side effects.  

Unfortunately, in some cases some cancer treatments such as chemotherapy can cause eye related side effects. Although it’s not very common, visionary problems can occur for some people during their cancer treatment or after treatment ends.

The symptoms can be minor or can be more serious for others which can lead to poor vision which your father seems to be experiencing. You mentioned the doctors expressed steroids were not the answer. The reason for this is steroids can also cause further side-effects, including cataracts and can raise the pressure in the eyes.

As part of your fathers follow up care any new symptoms should be monitored by his team. It maybe worth contacting his team again including the Ophthalmologist straight away for a further eye assessment. They are in the best position to offer further recommendations to manage his symptoms better.

You may also find Lymphoma Action website useful to look at for further support.

I hope this information is helpful, please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if there is anything else, we can help you with.

Best Wishes

Ref/HK