Does having cancer cause other health issues?

Guardianone 2000
Guardianone 2000 Member Posts: 30
edited January 2012 in Long-Term Effects of Treatment #1
What have you experienced after being told your cancer was gone?

Comments

  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #2
    Depends
    It depends on the type of cancer and the methods of treatment, among other things, David. Check out the Long Term Survivors forum, if you have not, for some of the conditions that people with various cancers in their backgrounds experience over time.

    Some folks experience lymphedema (swelling in the extremities, basically), others, who have experienced radiation, such as myself, might experience permanent scarring or rather rapid decay of teeth, there is chemobrain, about which they are still learning, some deal with various 'bags' for the rest of their lives, or feeding tubes. The list goes on and on.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • outlier
    outlier Member Posts: 12
    #3
    After Cancer
    I have been out of active treatment since November. I am currently having issues with joint and muscle pain, and I have nueropathy in my hands and feet. I am still hopeful that as more time passes, these issues will subside. I guess it was unrealistic to think that as soon as chemo was over, all the problems would go away. I keep reminding myself that I had several major surgeries before I spent 18 weeks bombarding my body with toxic chemicals. It's going to take time to heal.

    A friend told me recently that you should expect to spend an equal amount of time in recovery as you did in active treatment. That means I have 9 more months of recovery time left.

    Oddly enough, recent bloodwork came back with a cholesterol reading of 230! I was at 140 during my physical less than 18 months ago. Is chemo the cause? Who knows....

    What issues are you having?
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #4
    Issues
    I'm two years out from treatment with carboplatin and taxol. Although, I have not experienced many of the common side effects of this treatment combo, I do have conditions I did not have prior to diagnosis: Hashimoto's, leaky gut, bone loss, and insulin resistance. I suppose I may have had the insulin resistance prior, and did not realize it. But the other new issues are all related to autoimmunity, just a gift from treatment that keeps on giving. :)

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