Re: CHEMO - SIDE EFFECTS - QUESTION

[Guest guest]

,

I don't think that it is normal - although if he is obese or

particularly inactive, he would be more prone to it happening

because of inactivity, not necessarily chemotherapy.

Irregardless though, he needs to see a doctor. One of the real

risks that one has after surgery and during chemo are the formation

of blood clots in the legs - swelling can be an indicator of this.

If they break off, it can lead to stroke and/or pulmonary edema, so

it is something one wants to control.

In general, I think keeping the feet elevated, gradually

increasing activity to get the blood moving better, and lowering

sodium would be generally accepted ways that anybody can do to help

alleviate it.

Joe

>

> My Dad has had 2 treatments of Intralufid and 5 FU. Since his

second

> treatment, about a week ago, he has been very shaky and unsteady

on

> his feet. He's almost fallen twice. And his calves and ankles are

> very swollen on both legs so bad that he cannot wear shoes. Is

this

> normal ... does anyone know?

[Guest guest]

---Joe are you a doctor? You seem to know so much about this stuff.

You are very good! He does have some blockages in the legs already

unassociated with the cancer. I will get him to elevate them. This

may help. He weighs about 120 lbs. And he hasn't had surgery to

remove his tumor. We are going to a colorectal surgeon in 2 weeks to

see if surgery is a possiblity. So far the general surgeons haven't

given us much hope. Thanks. In

colon_cancer_support , " Joe " <jsulli8@n...> wrote:

>

> ,

> I don't think that it is normal - although if he is obese or

> particularly inactive, he would be more prone to it happening

> because of inactivity, not necessarily chemotherapy.

> Irregardless though, he needs to see a doctor. One of the real

> risks that one has after surgery and during chemo are the formation

> of blood clots in the legs - swelling can be an indicator of this.

> If they break off, it can lead to stroke and/or pulmonary edema, so

> it is something one wants to control.

> In general, I think keeping the feet elevated, gradually

> increasing activity to get the blood moving better, and lowering

> sodium would be generally accepted ways that anybody can do to help

> alleviate it.

>

> Joe

>

> >

> > My Dad has had 2 treatments of Intralufid and 5 FU. Since his

> second

> > treatment, about a week ago, he has been very shaky and unsteady

> on

> > his feet. He's almost fallen twice. And his calves and ankles are

> > very swollen on both legs so bad that he cannot wear shoes. Is

> this

> > normal ... does anyone know?

[Guest guest]

---Joe are you a doctor? You seem to know so much about this stuff.

You are very good! He does have some blockages in the legs already

unassociated with the cancer. I will get him to elevate them. This

may help. He weighs about 120 lbs. And he hasn't had surgery to

remove his tumor. We are going to a colorectal surgeon in 2 weeks to

see if surgery is a possiblity. So far the general surgeons haven't

given us much hope. Thanks. In

colon_cancer_support , " Joe " <jsulli8@n...> wrote:

>

> ,

> I don't think that it is normal - although if he is obese or

> particularly inactive, he would be more prone to it happening

> because of inactivity, not necessarily chemotherapy.

> Irregardless though, he needs to see a doctor. One of the real

> risks that one has after surgery and during chemo are the formation

> of blood clots in the legs - swelling can be an indicator of this.

> If they break off, it can lead to stroke and/or pulmonary edema, so

> it is something one wants to control.

> In general, I think keeping the feet elevated, gradually

> increasing activity to get the blood moving better, and lowering

> sodium would be generally accepted ways that anybody can do to help

> alleviate it.

>

> Joe

>

> >

> > My Dad has had 2 treatments of Intralufid and 5 FU. Since his

> second

> > treatment, about a week ago, he has been very shaky and unsteady

> on

> > his feet. He's almost fallen twice. And his calves and ankles are

> > very swollen on both legs so bad that he cannot wear shoes. Is

> this

> > normal ... does anyone know?

[Guest guest]

Ask your dr. about a diuretic to get the swelling down. It is normal in the

course of colon cancer but I don't know if his is cancer or chemo related.

Nevertheless a diuretic ought to clear up the problem. Be sure once he is on

it to find out when to stop as unfortunately once it has done the job

continuing it can cause the other extreme, mainly dehydration.

Hope this helps

Narice

[Guest guest]

No, I am not a medical doctor. I am Phd candidate at this point. I

am also a 40 year old father of 4 with metastatic cancer, so I know

about some of this stuff from experience, some from my wife (she is

a nurse), and some from a lot of reading - while I have not made

too good a progress on my Phd topic (for those interested, reverse

parameter estimation in large power transformers) in the last 6

months or so, being a researcher I do have access to all of the

medical journals, the reading of which has become somewhat of an

obsession.

Cancer is a scary thing, and its been my experience that doctors

don't always give you the whole picture or they assume that you're

not sophisticated enough to handle it. Given that, I have tried to

make one of the purposes of the illness that of making people less

scared and anxious by sharing either what I have felt, been through,

or read.

Take Care

Joe

> > >

> > > My Dad has had 2 treatments of Intralufid and 5 FU. Since his

> > second

> > > treatment, about a week ago, he has been very shaky and

unsteady

> > on

> > > his feet. He's almost fallen twice. And his calves and ankles

are

> > > very swollen on both legs so bad that he cannot wear shoes. Is

> > this

> > > normal ... does anyone know?