Neuropathic

Dear Bird 

Thanks for getting in touch with Macmillan Cancer Support through our Ask A Nurse platform. I’m Linda, one of the nurses from our support line.

Waiting to start treatment with chemotherapy can be an anxious time and it’s only natural to try and see what you can do to try and prevent or reduce side effects.

You don’t mention what type of chemotherapy you are having, however even though there is a risk of peripheral neuropathy with some of the chemotherapy drugs not everyone will go onto develop it.

In general, when people experience chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) it tends to be limited to their treatment time and, for most, it improves in the months after treatment ends.

Unfortunately, though it can have a significant impact for some, there aren’t any established preventative measures that we can suggest to you.

I’m not sure if this is something that you have spoken with your oncology team about.  If not, it is worth getting in touch with them to talk over your concerns. They should be able to discuss how this will be monitored and guide you with what to look out for, and when to contact them.  

In recent times there has been a trial looking at the benefit of hand cooing during treatment. It may be worth asking your team’s opinion about this, it’s unlikely to be common practice as it has just been recently reported.

I hope this helps, please don’t hesitate to come back to us or give us a call on our support line if you’d like to talk through this with us, we’d be happy to hear from you.

Take care.

Linda, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can 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: LM/RH