Had Major Surgery And Taking Chemotherapy. Stippled The Oxilaplatin Due To Numbness And Pain In Fingers And Feet. Advise?

Posted on Tue, 17 Sep 2013

Question: Hi, my wife had major suegery in January and started 12 sessions of chemo with a line in at the end of February on a fortnightly basis. After 9 sessions the doctors stippoed the oxilaplatin as she was getting bad numbness and pain in her fingers and feet. she has continued to have other chemo since and is due to have the last one next Monday followed by a CT scan. Is there anything that can be given to reduce this very uncomfortable pain etc. that is with her all the time. She is a fairly fit 70 years old. ?

Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (2 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for the query.
Brief answer...although pain control is difficult in cancer patients but it is still possible.
Detailed answer.....
I understand the problem of pain being suffered by your wife.
In cancer patients the pain is specifically increased in cases where metastasis has also occurred
Although the best treatment to cure cancer pain is to remove the source of pain by doing surgery or chemotherapy or radiotherapy.But if it can not be done then you require medications like...
Tylenol and ibuprofen.( OTC PRODUCTS )
Mild and weak opioids like codeine
Strong opioids like HYDROMORPHONE,OXYCODONE,METHADONE,MORPHINE etc.
These medicines are generally oral medications and can be taken by anyone.
Since these are prescription medicines,you are advised to talk to your doctor for their prescription,type of medicine and dosage.
Besides pain medicines,other treatment options employed are nerve blocks,physical therapy,acupuncture etc.
I hope it helps however you may revert to me for any further query.
Best of luck
Thanks

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar