You are here: Home General Post Treatment: ... Breast Cancer: ... How To Deal With Ongoing ...
Information about all aspects of finances affected by a serious health condition. Includes income sources such as work, investments, and private and government disability programs, and expenses such as medical bills, and how to deal with financial problems.
Information about all aspects of health care from choosing a doctor and treatment, staying safe in a hospital, to end of life care. Includes how to obtain, choose and maximize health insurance policies.
Answers to your practical questions such as how to travel safely despite your health condition, how to avoid getting infected by a pet, and what to say or not say to an insurance company.

Breast Cancer: Post Treatment: 6 Months Plus: Medical Care

How To Deal With Ongoing Or New Symptoms

Next » « Previous

3/12

It is possible that the physical and mental effects of chemotherapy or radiation will continue for quite a while - or new symptoms may show up. For example:

  • If you had radiation or chemotherapy, fatigue may persist. 
  • Depression may be ongoing or recurrent. The severity, and how long they continue, varies from person to person.
  • You may even experience post traumatic stress disorder or peripheral neuropathy (a tingling or pain in your hands or feet).
  • If you had chemotherapy, it is not unusual for a reaction known as "chemo brain" to continue or even to show up after treatment ends.
  • If you had radiation, a condition known as “radiation recall” may appear.

Continue the techniques that worked to combat side effects during treatment. If they' stop being effective, consider using other methods. They are described in:

If any lingering effects interfere with your life or seem severe, contact your cancer doctor or other health care provider.

NOTE: 

  • Report changes or new symptoms to your doctor.
  • If you experience fatigue, work with your doctor to try to determine the cause. For example, fatigue could be a symptom of:
    • Depression: A psychologist can help improve functioning, especially one knowledgeable about the impact of cancer on someone's life. Psychotropic medication may also help.
    • Hypothyroidism: Thyroid tests usually done routinely may not be specific enough for people with cancer treatment in their medical history. If thyroid problems are suspected, a specialist known as an endocrinologist will be able to accurately diagnose and treat them.
    • Anemia: A simple blood test can determine iron deficiency anemia. Some people may need iron supplementation. A change in eating habits may help.
    • Heart problems.

To Learn More

Related Articles

How To Choose a Dentist

Please share how this information is useful to you. 0 Comments

 

Post a Comment Have something to add to this topic? Contact Us.

Characters remaining:

  • Allowed markup: <a> <i> <b> <em> <u> <s> <strong> <code> <pre> <p>
    All other tags will be stripped.