Hi… I was hoping to understand others experiences of recovery from chemo. My mum has HER2 positive cancer with liver mets. Mum managed to complete 12 weeks of chemo without any break. This was 4 weeks ago. I am a bit worried as mum is still really poorly mainly around balance to the point it’s difficult for her to stand/walk and a bit of blurred vision. We have another scan in a few weeks but I’m worried that these symptoms are prolonged - is this something other’s have experienced ?
Hi
We have a tendency to attribute all our side effects to chemotherapy when, as my oncologist has pointed out, cancer itself can sometimes be the cause eg fatigue, breathlessness. Having said that, I know that some of the longer term and even permanent damage is caused by chemo. In my primary treatment, I had 3xEC and 9 paclitaxel over 18 weeks. I was left with peripheral neuropathy, tendon damage and neurological damage that affected my balance (I’m fine while seated and safe to drive, thank god). It’s like there is some disconnection between my brain and my body. I tread on my own feet when walking and have a tendency to stumble, even topple if I am not 100% alert to what I’m doing. I now tend to wall-walk (hand trailing along anything stable to the side) and I’m always walking into door jambs and walls when I don’t rely on a wall. Sounds awful but in the grand scheme of things, it’s more of a nuisance than a handicap. Fortunately I topple onto my backside like a toddler on the rare occasion I do fall.
Your mum’s symptoms may well improve with time - 4 weeks is not long to expect a full recovery. And don’t forget there is a powerful psychological element to recovery which may slow down the process. But she must keep her oncologist informed of her symptoms. I was referred to Rheumatology (yes, the tendon damage is permanent, here are some exercises), to the Frailty Clinic because they have such a good overview (sorry, too young) and to Neurology (which ignored the referral and then along came Covid). Please don’t start worrying about further spread. You don’t give your mum’s age but the older we are, the slower the recovery may be. It also might be some other medication or some bad interactions between different meds. It could be something and nothing - but I don’t think it’s unusual. However, the risk of falls increases with age and can be very limiting so I’d say persuade her to get it checked out. A sympathetic GP could do this, or her oncologist.
I wish your mum a speedy recovery and long period of stability in terms of her MBC. She’s lucky to have your support (but please accept that all choices and actions must be hers alone. Feeling in charge of something we actually can have no ultimate control over is very important).
Jan x