Common Allergies

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Hi,

Thank you for your support on this forum, I have fund your responses to questions on this forum useful since I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February, this year.

I have noticed something strange post surgery and radiotherapy. I have never been allergic to anything before prior to breast cancer. Since July this year after my radiotherapy, I noticed that I now have allergic reactions after eating or common household products.

I have now started taking notes of foods or products, the first I noticed was prawns, hand wash, perfume and washing detergent. I haven’t changed any of these for years but all of a sudden I react to them.

Is this something common to cancer or is something different based on my age. I just turned 50.

Thank you

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Hi @chat , i would love to know the answer to this as well! I am 12months post treatment and have suddenly become allergic to fish, insect bites, and sticking plaster - horrendous reactions with hives, swollen, red face, neck, and eyes. I am 68. X

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It’s so strange, I was looking forward to summer holiday abroad but I just found myself unable to relax or eat well as I seemed to be reacting to everything.
I opted for vegetarian meals but still find myself having reactions to some meals.

This is really hard to process.

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Of all places I saw a spoken word show at the Edinburgh Festival that may be relevant . He was discussing hay fever and why it’s so common in urban areas when other pollutants from e.g. building sites are rife. He said that it’s the pollutants that are causing the problem but your body doesn’t know how to recognise them but it knows what pollen is so if the pollen comes out when the pollution is also active your body starts reacting to the pollen instead.

Someone on another thread said she had been told that post- radiotherapy fatigue is caused because radiotherapy creates different kinds of cells in your body which your immune system doesn’t recognise and uses a lot of energy trying to get rid of them but can’t ( hope I’ve got that right) . So it could be that your immune system has gone on hyperdrive after your treatment because it knows that something has happened / is happening because radiotherapy works for a long time after treatment is finished but your body and immune system don’t really understand what’s happened so it’s now seeing other things that it does recognise as the enemy and it’s reacting to those instead.

Having said that my close friend who has not had BC but does have intrinsic asthma started having a persistent cough shortness of breath wheeziness and stomach pains and has been diagnosed with food intolerance to gluten wheat dairy kidney beans and beef plus some other foods . I’m not sure how she got herself investigated .As she’s veggie the beef was not an issue. She followed instructions and cut them all out for 3 months and has been gradually reintroducing them . She felt much better quite quickly and now can tolerate some wheat products but is still very sensitive to dairy so the allergy to that seems to have been causing her to react to wheat and other foods as well.

Years ago I had a bad reaction to a Hepatitis B booster which I need to have for work and became sensitive to the face cleanser soap and deodorant I had used for years - although I’m a Nurse working in the NHS I ended up seeing a Homeopath and that helped me though I never used those products again. It might be worth thinking about any other treatment / injections you have had or supplements you are taking .

I’m really sorry for you both as it must be miserable and very hard to live your lives. Sorry I can’t offer much help xx

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Hi Chat

Thank you for posting. It sounds like a tricky time for you as you cope with all these new allergic reactions.

It is difficult to know what is causing them and if it is in any way related to the breast cancer treatment you have had. Radiotherapy can make your skin around the area that was treated more sensitive in the weeks after treatment so it could react to some products, however, this should improve over time.

Sometimes, our tolerance to foods and other products can change as we get older, and as @JoanneN says, other things can trigger allergies. You may find it helpful to look at information on the Allergy UK website. We would also suggest you make an appointment to see your GP, if you haven’t done so already. They can carry out a full assessment and some blood tests and refer you to an allergy clinic if needed.

It is a good idea to continue keeping a record of the changes and symptoms you are noticing, so you can show this to your GP

Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen, talk things through and signpost you to additional support and information if necessary. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks.

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Best wishes

Angela

Breast Care Nurse

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