Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy can present itself in many ways. Patients may experience heightened sensation, absence of sensation, or a combination of the two (TOFTHAGEN). It can be very painful for some patients. Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy can persist for six to eight months after the final chemotherapy treatment. According to Bak et. al., 40% of patients will show no signs of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy after this time period. However, there is a small percentage of patient who will continue to experience the symptoms of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy as a long term issue, even years after their chemotherapy treatments have ended (BAK). There are different types of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy: sensory neuropathy, motor neuropathy, and autonomic neuropathy. Sensory neuropathy is what most would think of when discussing neuropathic symptoms. This includes the feelings of numbness and tingling that can lead to burning sensations. Many describe this feeling as “pins and needles”. Motor neuropathy is related to feelings of muscles weakness and loss of control, which can lead to decreased coordination. Finally, autonomic neuropathy presents itself with symptoms of abdominal …show more content…
These symptoms of numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness frequently prevent the patient from performing their everyday activities, due to impaired ability to function in their environment. Some patients may lose their ability to continue working if they have a job that requires the use of their hands for fine motor movement. If a patient is unable to perform their everyday responsibilities, such as their occupation, it can lead them to experience economic burdens. These problems will only continue to progress further as they complete the rest of their treatment of cancer without bringing in any income.
Per medical report dated 11/24/15 by Dr. Cano, the patient is complaining of severe numbness in the right hand, tightness around the right worse than left hand. She also associates this with dropping items. She is unable to button her shirts or raise her arms up to her elbows. This is continuous all day long. Also, associated is severe low back pain with numbness, radiation, and muscle spasm in the thoracic area, and numbness and radiation down the right sciatic nerve with severe low back pain. She continued to work, sixteen-hour shifts, seven days a week. At this time, she is unable to function. She states that she has had 24 sessions of physical therapy that has definitely helped her.
* Weakness or numbness especially in the lower extremities, related to the myeloma cells can be nerve toxic.
Reiki: Along with the benefits outlined above, this therapeutic practice can improve pain management efforts that are often a part of chemotherapy. It also serves as a method that can help with other pain management without the use of pills and other pharmaceutical therapies.
The chemotherapy treatment is responsible for lowering the cell counts in the blood, which hinders circulation. Over the treatment process, it can cause bruising and increased bleeding in the mouth and to the gums. In some instances, chemotherapy may cause general sensations of pain and pressure,
Cancer pain is one of the classic mixed pain syndromes. As cancer advances, it may involve nociceptive, mechanical, inflammatory, and neuropathic
Taste alteration occurs during chemotherapy, after a few days or after 2 or 3 cycles. Almost patients recover from taste alteration from finishing
Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes (PNS) are syndromes that result from dysfunction of the nervous system, caused by a benign or malignant tumor via mechanisms other than direct tumor cell infiltration, metastasis, coagulopathy, infection or any treatment side effects [1]. All parts of the central and peripheral nervous system may be affected by PNS and, as a result, signs and symptoms are diverse. Most PNS of the central nervous system have in common a subacute course leaving the patients severely disabled in weeks to months and inflammatory changes in the CSF, including moderate lymphocytic pleocytosis, increased protein levels and IgG index and presence of CSF-specific oligoclonal bands[2]. Early recognition may be difficult
Peripheral neuropathy involves damage to the peripheral nervous system which serves as a major communication network for the brain, the spinal cord other parts of the body. Peripheral nerves are responsible for sending sensory information such as “cold feet” back to the brain. It is also responsible for sending signals from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles to elicit movement. There are more than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy and each is classified based on the type of damage on the nerve. Some peripheral neuropathies are due to damage to the myelin sheath which is the fatty protein that coats and insulate the axon. This myelin sheath is important for increasing the speed at which impulses propagate down a myelinated nerve fiber.
Sensory neuropathy can affect the hands, feet, legs and arms, symptoms may range from mild to severe, such as numbness, reduced ability to sense pain or extreme temperatures, tingling feeling, unexplained burning sensations, sharp stabbing pains, often symptoms are more noticeable at night. People with sensory neuropathy may experience dysesthesia (abnormal sensation) symptoms of dysesthesia include a burning feeling under the skin and extremely sensitive skin to the extent where clothes and bedding can cause intense pain (Diabetes UK,
The metastasis of cancer causes serious complications on the body of a patient, with these having a high potential to lead to death. Cancer that originates in the lungs or spreads to the lungs or the accessory muscles can bring about breathing difficulties and suffocation. Cancer may also spread to the tissues of the brain and the spinal cord to cause neurological manifestations affecting the nervous system of a person. The most common complication of cancer is the chronic pain (Lovell et al., 2014), which could be coming from the tumor itself as its growth and creates pressure, pushes other tissues and organs and invade or destroy nerves that then cause painful sensations. Bone pain is also very common when cancer has spread to the bone tissue.
Peripheral Neuropathy varies. It can affect one nerve or / and many nerves like I said earlier. Some of the damages can be treated or worsen and even can become permanent. Peripheral Neuropathy is not a specific disease but a damage to a specific part of the body like to a specific nerve or nerves and it also depends in which parts that got damaged or destroyed and they have different symptoms too and then the doctor will be able to determine the specific nerves that got damaged or destroyed and will prescribe you the right medications to treat any one of the nerves that are not working properly
I have heard many people complaining about feeling pain in some part of the body. This makes me ask the question, what are the causes of neuropathy? Nobody loves being tormented with numbness, intense stabbing pains among others.
A peripheral neuropathy is an injury to the peripheral nerves which can result in pains and weakness of the hands and feet. A peripheral neuropathy can be caused by a traumatic injury or an infection. Symptoms and sings for a peripheral neuropathy depend on the types of nerves that are affected including: sensory, motor and autonomic nerves. The signs and symptoms of these three types of nerves are: pains as burning in the hands, arms, feet or legs, weak muscles, falling down, dizziness and digestion problems etc… There are a lot of reasons why a person will have a peripheral neuropathy including alcohol, infection, diabetes, medications, inherited and taking poisons. Moreover, it’s safer to see a specialist in
As mentioned previously, PMPS is classified as a chronic neuropathic pain syndrome. Therefore, distinguishing whether chronic pain after breast cancer surgery is nociceptive or neuropathic has important implications for diagnostic, lifestyle and treatment decisions for these patients (Arnstein P,
The peripheral neuropathy arises from Diabetes mellitus in most cases, but can also result from poliomyelitis, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, mistreated infections, distress to the nerves, and even Parkinson’s disease. Neuropathy is nerve damage which results in no sensation in affected areas. Another cause of Charcot