Hi everyone, Hope you don’t mind me posting here. my mum has secondary breast cancer which is in the spine, ribs and lymph nodes. She was only diagnosed with secondaries about 10weeks ago. At the moment she is on MST, orphmophine, 400mg of lyrica, and another drug for nerve pain plus a blood thinning tablet. tHis past few days one side of her body, her good side, as she calls it has swelled up and looks very puffy. Mum is putting it down to side effects of tablets, but I am a little worried. Her kidneys are not functioning like they should be and she has developed a nasty chest cough. There is also spots on her .lung but hasn’t been told if it is further spread of the mets. I am posting her to see If any of you lovely ladies or gentlemen have every experienced this swelling and should we be worried at this stage. The district nurse is calling on Monday to do her bloods and we were going to discuss it then. Any advise greatly appreciated.
Hi patsy. I am in a similar position to your mum and take some of the same meds. I really dont know about the swelling or if its due to cancer or the meds but all i can say is that if u are concerned dont wait till monday. You cud take your mum to a and e…not always a pleasant experience! I am sure the district nurse will also help …isnt there an emergency contact number for them so u cud ring and talk about your worries? Hope mum is ok and gets some help.
Carol x
Hi Patsy39
Welcome to the forums, I’m sorry to read about you’re Mums diagnosis and the problems she is experiencing. Whilst you are waiting for the other users to reply with knowledge and support you might find it helpful to talk things through with a member of staff on the helpline. Here you can share your thoughts and concerns with someone who will offer you a listening ear as well as emotional support and practical information. The number to call is 0808 800 6000 and lines are open weekdays 9 to 5pm and Saturday 10 to 2pm.
Best wishes Sam, BCC Facilitator
Apparently, swelling of legs/ankles can be linked to anaemia (which can be caused by chemo and other things too). Might be worth asking about blood results (haemoglobin).
Thanks everyone, we are seeing the oncholigist tomorrow, fingers crossed she gets an answer!
We seen the oncholigist today, she was very shocked at much mum had deterieted from the last time she seen her (2months ago). She didn’t know for sure what was causing the swelling and has ordered a bone scan. Mum has only had one CT Scan, the Doc said once the next CT scan is done next month, they will be able yo measure if there is further spread and if the hormone drug is doing its job. It is like a roller coaster at the moment and one of the hardest days yet. Poor mum just wants to sleep all the time and barely fit to walk, heart breKing watching her.
Patsy all i can say is that in may this year i wasin a wheelchair and needed help with everthing from getting dressed to going to bed. Now i am returning to work. So do not look at your mum and think the worst. Its awful you have to wait so long for results but once they know wot they are dealing with they can give your mum the rite treatment ans hopefully thia will makw a massive difference to her daily life.It must be so hard seeing your mum like this. Mt son is 24 and he was 14 wen i was first diagmosed with primary bc and i know its a lot to cope with for family members. Show your mum some of these posts and tell her we are thinking about her.
X