side effects of treatment, muscle joint pain - ongoing 2 years after treatment - 1250977

ebrutontas
Posts:4

Thank you for having this platform. A friend of mine finished 6 rounds of chemo, 33 rounds of radiation and 3 sessions of brachiterapy 2 years ago for gynecological cancer. She is in remission but still deals with anemia and muscle and joint pain. Could these be continuing side effects from treatment?

Thanks for reading and thanks for offering insight.

ebru

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Reply # - December 5, 2012, 02:16 PM

catdander
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Hi ebru, your a good friend to find this site in hopes of finding relief for your friend.

I will contact a doctor for input on this question. But our faculty have mostly expertise in other cancers other than gynecologic. So while she may be having continued issues from lingering symptoms of cancer itself I'm not sure we can know that. And I think any doctor will tell you that almost anything is possible in this situation though blood counts usually return to normal after a time off treatment. I'm not a doctor and this is only a non educated guess.
I will contact a doctor and you should hear back within a day.

I hope she can find a solution or at least a work around for these problems.

All the best to you both,
Janine
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Reply # - December 5, 2012, 07:31 PM

drcalvo
Posts: 5

Hello, some long term side effects from chemo could be present and explain some of the symptoms your friend has. I do not know her age and degree of anemia but here are the options:
1) Chemo and radiation pushed her into menopause, that could be associated to muscle and joint pains, anemia would be rare in this setting.
2) Chemo and radiation infrequently can damage the bone marrow causing a disease called MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome), it is a form of bone marrow failure that could transform into leukemia. That could explain anemia 2 years after therapy. Aches and pains are not usually part of this syndrome.
3) She could be dealing with an unrelated inflammatory condition that causes muscle and joint pains as well as anemia.
4) She could have chronic blood loss from the bowels due to radiation enteritis, that could lead to anemia and iron deficiency anemia can cause aches and pains.
5) Combination of the above.
It would be very appropriate to have her see her general doctor for a work up (iron studies, rheumatologic tests, hormonal levels). If anemia is severe (hemoglobin below 10 g/dl) she may need a hematology evaluation with bone marrow biopsy.

I know this is not very specific but it will give you something to start with.
Best of luck!

Alejandro Calvo, MD
Medical Oncology and Hematology
Dayton Cancer Center

Views expressed here represent my opinion, not those of GRACE or DaytonCancer Center. This information does not constitute medical advice and is intended to supplement and not replace medical information provided by your doctor.

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