CANCER COMMUNITY
Can chemo cause kidney failure?

Can chemo cause kidney failure?

I’m on maintenance chemotherapy for leukemia and went to my Dr. because of fainting constantly.  I’m back from a night in the hospital....blood tests and bone marrow biopsy show no signs of relapse!!(sigh) He wanted to keep me in the hospital  longer, but I told him I couldn’t miss more of the first week of school.  

Turns out I'm severely anemic, Hemoglobin was 7.8, platelets were also really low. But he also said my kidneys may not be functioning at 100%. Ultrasound of kidneys didn't show anything though. He said my acids were high, erythropoietin was low, and electrolytes like Na, K, and Ca weren't right. I got an IV to help balance out my electrolytes and a RBC transfusion for the anemeia.  My BP was also very low at 80/60 which probably contributed to the fainting spells.  He ran an ECG just to make sure it wasn't my heart,  that was negative.  And he's running a metabolic test, results aren't in yet. So I was discharged to take iron supplements and fludrocortisone to raise my BP.  
And he says it's important for me to stay on maintenance chemotherapy b/c my history of leukemia relapse. He wants to see me back in a week once he has the metabolic test results back.  I'm concerned that the chemo may have affected my kidneys.  Could this be the start of kidney failure?  
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