diabetic

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tom29mi
tom29mi Member Posts: 31 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
my mother also is diabetic and on insulin will the chemo/radiation cause any problems with the diabetes?

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  • DeeNY711
    DeeNY711 Member Posts: 476 Member
    #2
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    Many people on chemotherapy and who subsequently receive radiation are diabetics. The medication given in combination with chemotherapy to avoid severe side effects can cause blood glucose levels to rise above normal even in people who do not have diabetes, but your Mom's oncologist is aware of this and will follow her carefully with lab work to monitor what is happening. If your Mom also sees an endocrinologist, it would be a good idea to let the endocrinologist know about the chemotherapy because there may be suggestions on how to manage changes at home... when to call the doctor, etc. Hope this helps!
    Denise
  • tom29mi
    tom29mi Member Posts: 31 Member
    #3
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    DeeNY711 said:

    Many people on chemotherapy and who subsequently receive radiation are diabetics. The medication given in combination with chemotherapy to avoid severe side effects can cause blood glucose levels to rise above normal even in people who do not have diabetes, but your Mom's oncologist is aware of this and will follow her carefully with lab work to monitor what is happening. If your Mom also sees an endocrinologist, it would be a good idea to let the endocrinologist know about the chemotherapy because there may be suggestions on how to manage changes at home... when to call the doctor, etc. Hope this helps!
    Denise

    im not sure if she has an endocrinologist but ill be sure to check on all that when she goes for the first treatment thursday
  • hummingbyrd
    hummingbyrd Member Posts: 950 Member
    #4
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    tom29mi said:

    im not sure if she has an endocrinologist but ill be sure to check on all that when she goes for the first treatment thursday

    Look into cinnamon, recent study showed 1/4 tsp a day lowers blood glucose by 30% in just 40 days. Just type in 'cinnamon and diabetics' in search engine and see what you find. All the studies I remember seeing were with Type 2 diabetics, but it may be worth asking her doctor. If you do, print out a reputable study to take with you. Docs seem very reluctant to alternative medicine.
    Good luck, hummer
  • tom29mi
    tom29mi Member Posts: 31 Member
    #5
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    hummingbyrd said:

    Look into cinnamon, recent study showed 1/4 tsp a day lowers blood glucose by 30% in just 40 days. Just type in 'cinnamon and diabetics' in search engine and see what you find. All the studies I remember seeing were with Type 2 diabetics, but it may be worth asking her doctor. If you do, print out a reputable study to take with you. Docs seem very reluctant to alternative medicine.
    Good luck, hummer

    tya hummingbyrd ive noticed your posts and see that you are very knowledgeable and will be checking into it
  • rizzo15
    rizzo15 Member Posts: 153 Member
    #6
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    I'm only a Type 2 diabetic, but was told that one of the solutions they use to flush the chemo port has a significant glucose component in it. While going through A/C and Taxotere chemo, I was asked to check my blood glucose levels a little more often than my usual 3 days per week, especially on chemo day. I have one of those Lifescan monitors that uses just a little drop of blood out of the arm. No problems.
  • lynne40
    lynne40 Member Posts: 87
    #7
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    Hi Tom,
    what type of diabetese does your mother have? I have type 1 and the drugs definitely raised my glucose levels but I had to stay on top of it because the doc treated my diabetes as secondary. Hello it will be here when the cancer is gone . High glucose levels also make you nauseous so keeping them in check is important. Extreme vomiting is detrimental to your Mom's diabetese. I asked the docs to decrease my steroid dose that was standard practice with my A/C therapy. They did reluctantly, and I was sick but never vomited once and my glucose stayed much more in check. Hope this helps, Good Luck,
    Lynne

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