side effects of traditional cancer treatment

[beny1]

my niece had breast cancer 10 years ago and after normal treatment of chemo and radiation she rcovered. suddenly after 10 years she developed lung cancer which too receded after traditional treatment leaving a scar behind. however, subsequetly, she is having swollen gal bladder(17mm), recurring vommitting,acute constipation,sleeplessness,restlessness,leg pains and loss of weight. Even perinom injections are ineffective. she is almost bedridden. she is appx 40 years

[HeinrikMD]

Hi,

I’m sorry to hear about your niece, she has been through a lot at such an age.

I am assuming that there is no evidence of cancer at the present time, hence the question is raised whether all of these symptoms may be explained by the cumulative damage of the treatment given. Most chemotherapy would have an effect on the blood, or the capacity to produce blood, as some survivors may gain a secondary leukemia.

Other side-effects may lead to irreversible loss in kidney and liver capacity. Specific side-effects on the gall bladder are uncommon. The thickening of the gall bladder may not even be the primary problem in this case, as a condition that would produce weight loss, sleep loss, aches and pains, may also be causing stress on the gall bladder.

Discuss your concerns with your doctor, a second opinion may also be helpful.

[beny1]

Thanks for your prompt response. Immediate problem is to prevent recurring vommitting so that intake of food gives  her some stength/energy. Therefore, kindly give me the detailed procedure including prescription of medicines/dosages etc. so that entire poblem could be treated systemtically and comprehensively. I shall also corroborate your pescription with more locally available advice to prevent remote -control- treatment.

[HeinrikMD]

Hi,

There are a number of things to consider and without being able to perform an examination, I would not be able to give you any details for treatment. It would be best if she is seen by a doctor.

Among the things to think about would be involvement of the brain (brain metastasis). A neurologic examination may help evaluate this. If this is the case, a course of radiation would be important to consider. The nausea could be due to side-effects of medications given for pain particularly opioids (morphine, oxycodone) if she is on that. There are methods of adding other drugs in order to lower the dose of the medications.  IF the vomiting is due more to abdominal pain, gastritis with or without ulcers may respond with antacids and other gastric acid lowering medications. If the pain is due to the gallbladder threatening to rupture – this can only be addressed with surgery.

The doctor’s examination would help limit the possibilities and hence better able to guide you through a course of treatment.

Stay positive.