Numbness in feet

beowulf88
beowulf88 Member Posts: 23
in Esophageal Cancer #1
I'm a 48yo man with Stage4 EC. I'm doing Doxetaxel, 5FU ans Cisplatin every other week since February. Also I see a lot of mention of lower back pain, what's the cause of this? I have recently notice numbness in my feet and hands. Anyone know what this means? Is this a side effect of the chemo or the cancer? Also, a bad rash on my arms and legs. Starts as a rash but turns into sores that look like bug bites. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #2
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
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  • stephikindred
    stephikindred Member Posts: 140
    #4
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Interesting
    At our last oncologist visit my mom told the doctor that the numbness and tingling are getting worse, she really seems unsteady on her feet (sometimes she appears to be tipsy the way shewalks) and the malaise is as well. I remembered you suggested Adderal in a previous post so I asked about it and he said it is a good suggestion. The doctor decided to take her off the Oxaliplatin and just give her the leucovorin and sent her home with the 5 FU pump. He also gave her 2 units of blood. Since the effects of the chemo are cumulative, he said we need to balance her qualiity of life with the treatment. Up until this last round, she had been tolerating it pretty well. He said after her next scan in Sept he would probably change her chemo protocol but it would mean more neuropathy. I will mention the Cymbalta. Thanks again, Sherri!
    Stephanie
  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #5
    I have peripheral neuropathy from Cisplatin
    Part of my chemotherapy treatment included six rounds of Cisplatin. By round number three I started to notice a numbness in my feet, particularly my toes. After about six months post treatment the numbness seemed to improve. I say it "seemed to improve" because I still have some numbness and I am not sure if the numbness was reduced or if I just got used to the lack of feeling in my toes.

    As others have stated peripheral nuerophathy (tingling and numbness in extremities) is a documented side effect of Cisplatin. Perhaps a discussion with your oncologist could yield some suggestions to mitigate the side effect.

    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    Grand Blanc, Michigan

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    Two year survivor

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!
  • beowulf88
    beowulf88 Member Posts: 23
    #6
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Normal is good!!! Thanks
    Normal is good!!! Thanks for the info. I just read about all these symptoms near the end of life for a lot of people posting. Just getting the whole lower back pain thing going on as well.
  • jaycc
    jaycc Member Posts: 122
    #7
    stephikindred said:

    Interesting
    At our last oncologist visit my mom told the doctor that the numbness and tingling are getting worse, she really seems unsteady on her feet (sometimes she appears to be tipsy the way shewalks) and the malaise is as well. I remembered you suggested Adderal in a previous post so I asked about it and he said it is a good suggestion. The doctor decided to take her off the Oxaliplatin and just give her the leucovorin and sent her home with the 5 FU pump. He also gave her 2 units of blood. Since the effects of the chemo are cumulative, he said we need to balance her qualiity of life with the treatment. Up until this last round, she had been tolerating it pretty well. He said after her next scan in Sept he would probably change her chemo protocol but it would mean more neuropathy. I will mention the Cymbalta. Thanks again, Sherri!
    Stephanie

    Watch Oxaliplatin
    I'm not a doctor, but Oxaliplatin is a very good cancer fighter. I would suggest you talk more about stopping it. They can slow down the Oxaliplatin to help get her a few more doses. In my husband's case, the FU and leucovorin did not work well enough.
  • stephikindred
    stephikindred Member Posts: 140
    #8
    jaycc said:

    Watch Oxaliplatin
    I'm not a doctor, but Oxaliplatin is a very good cancer fighter. I would suggest you talk more about stopping it. They can slow down the Oxaliplatin to help get her a few more doses. In my husband's case, the FU and leucovorin did not work well enough.

    Oxaliplatin
    Thanks, she will see a different doc next week as her regular oncologist is on vacation and I will mention this. I was concerned that they wanted to stop it too but the doc said it is time to balance her quality of life and that the chemo is starting to take its toll on her. Why can't they come up with a less damaging treatment for cancer for the multitudes who have to suffer the effects of chemo? So frustrating! Sorry had to vent a little!
    Stephanie
  • beowulf88
    beowulf88 Member Posts: 23
    #9
    paul61 said:

    I have peripheral neuropathy from Cisplatin
    Part of my chemotherapy treatment included six rounds of Cisplatin. By round number three I started to notice a numbness in my feet, particularly my toes. After about six months post treatment the numbness seemed to improve. I say it "seemed to improve" because I still have some numbness and I am not sure if the numbness was reduced or if I just got used to the lack of feeling in my toes.

    As others have stated peripheral nuerophathy (tingling and numbness in extremities) is a documented side effect of Cisplatin. Perhaps a discussion with your oncologist could yield some suggestions to mitigate the side effect.

    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    Grand Blanc, Michigan

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    Two year survivor

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

    Paul thanks and especially
    Paul thanks and especially the last line. 2 left feet but i may as well get lessons.
    I read about this Ivor Lewis, what is that?
    Cheers, Bill
  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #10
    beowulf88 said:

    Paul thanks and especially
    Paul thanks and especially the last line. 2 left feet but i may as well get lessons.
    I read about this Ivor Lewis, what is that?
    Cheers, Bill

    Ivor Lewis is a form of esophagectomy
    Bill,

    There are three primary forms of esophagectomy surgery.

    One of the first approaches defined was a transthorasic form frequently called Ivor Lewis surgery (named after the surgeon that first published the approach) that includes two large incisions. One in the abdomen and one under the left shoulder blade in the back.

    The second primary form is transhaital esophagectomy that includes one incision in the abdomen and an incision in the neck just above the collar bone.

    The third approach is the minimally invasive esophagectomy where a number of small incisions are made and laparascopic techniques are used to remove the esophagus.


    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    Grand Blanc, Michigan

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    Two year survivor

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!
  • AngieD
    AngieD Member Posts: 493
    #11
    paul61 said:

    Ivor Lewis is a form of esophagectomy
    Bill,

    There are three primary forms of esophagectomy surgery.

    One of the first approaches defined was a transthorasic form frequently called Ivor Lewis surgery (named after the surgeon that first published the approach) that includes two large incisions. One in the abdomen and one under the left shoulder blade in the back.

    The second primary form is transhaital esophagectomy that includes one incision in the abdomen and an incision in the neck just above the collar bone.

    The third approach is the minimally invasive esophagectomy where a number of small incisions are made and laparascopic techniques are used to remove the esophagus.


    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    Grand Blanc, Michigan

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    Two year survivor

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

    Neuropathy and Nails
    Bill, my husband (EC) and I (BC) were on Taxol (a sister drug to Taxotere) from March to June. Larry did not have any problems with it except hair thinning which had not happened on Oxaliplatin and Xeloda. I had the numb/tingling feeling in my feet starting around the 9th out of 12 treatments. Our oncologist had us take Vitamin B6 100 mg twice a day to prevent or minimize neuropathy. (You might want to ask your oncologist about that.) I'm still taking it. I finished chemo June 5 and the neuropathy is gradually getting a little better--never was terrible. I've also lost one toenail and will lose both big toe nails--they're black and disgusting now, but I'm told they'll grow back.
    Angie

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