Doxil Caused Rare Side Effect

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sloane
sloane Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi folks :-]
My Mom who's 62 years old has Stage 4 Breast cancer that has spread to her bones. She has responded very well to treatments and her tumer markers are very low..thats the good news...a few months ago her doctor told her that she should recieve some IV treatments of Doxil as a preventative mesure. The first treatment went well, after the second, she started to have severe dizziness. After the 3rd treatment she had to be hospatalized because she was fainting and had severe blurred vision. She was released from the hospital eight weeks ago and she is still very dizzy and there is no sign of it going away. The neurologists at the hospital told us that she was one of only 4 or 5 people in the world who has had this rare side effect to Doxil. I am worried that this drug may have caused permanent damage.
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts people might have on this subject.

Thanks!
Chuck

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  • DeeNY711
    DeeNY711 Member Posts: 476 Member
    #2
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    Chuck, I tried doing a Doxil search on this site, on Google.com and Lycos.com without success in trying to find information on neurological side effects and the length of time they last. Very often I find the best information right here from others by whom the medications were taken. Two suggestions come to mind: First, many things can cause dizziness (dehydration, anemia, low potassium level for example) so ask for a copy of the lab work and ask questions if something is "off." All of mine are "off." It is not uncommon. I let my internist review all the lab work. He has me eating two bananas a day to keep my potassium level within normal range. Sometimes the solution is really simple. I found absolutely nothing on dizziness and Doxil. Second, for your own piece of mind, you may want to have an oncologist of your choice review Mom's medical records and offer you a second opinion. Sometimes a fresh look sheds new light on things, and the primary physician frequently feels relieved that another doctor is sharing the responsibility with a puzzling development of this type. A third thing is something a surgeon told me once: "It can be years, it can be DECADES before you can tell how much residual effect there will be. Even scars that are distressing can be very hard to find in later years." Hope this helps a little. Hugs, Denise

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