Breast cancer treatment

Hi Tarana,

Thank you for getting in touch with us and welcome to the online community.  My name is Adrienne and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists at Macmillan.  I see that you’ve joined our breast cancer forum.  I really hope you are finding it helpful and supportive. 

I’m sorry to hear about the pain you are experiencing.  It’s really important that chest pain is assessed immediately.  You can do this by contacting your chemotherapy hotline, calling NHS 111 or attending your local A&E.  The reason for this is because some chemotherapies can affect the heart or cause blood clots.  You should tell your doctor or nurse straight away if you experience any of the following symptoms: 

• have chest tightness, pain or discomfort
• have pain that spreads to your shoulders, neck, back, jaw or arms
• feel unwell, sick or sweaty
• have shortness of breath or are wheezing
• black out (faint)
• feel dizzy or light-headed can feel your heart beating (palpitations).
• Pain, redness/discolouration, heat and swelling of the arm or leg or at the area of a central/PICC line if you have one (i.e. Arm, chest).
• Unexplained cough or coughing up blood.

You can read more about heart problems and the drugs that most commonly cause them here.

As long as there are no issues with your heart or the issues are treated appropriately, this should not stop you getting your surgery. 

Peripheral neuropathy can be very debilitating and I can hear how much this is affecting your daily life.  Your doctor should be monitoring how much your nerves are affected and will sometimes reduce the dose of the chemotherapy drug or even stop it altogether.  Usually the neuropathy will fade away within a few months after finishing the treatment but it can take longer than that in some people.  In rare cases, neuropathy caused by chemotherapy can last years or sometimes be permanent.

I would suggest speaking to your hospital team about the neuropathy and how badly it’s affecting you.  It’s important that they know what is going on and can offer help in reducing and treating the neuropathy you have.  You can also read some tips to help manage it here.    

The main thing is not to ignore any symptoms such as pain, especially chest pain.  Get in touch with your chemotherapy unit so they can assess you properly and help manage the pain appropriately. 

I really do hope this information was helpful.

Take care and best wishes,

Adrienne McG, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Ref: AMc/BG