Posted on 02/23/2025 9:36:46 PM PST by ConservativeMind
A new study found that cold therapy protects breast cancer patients from nerve pain caused by chemotherapy.
Researchers found that cryotherapy, a treatment that involves exposing the body or specific areas of the body to extremely cold temperatures for therapeutic purposes, helped prevent nerve damage in breast cancer patients who are being treated with the chemotherapy drugs paclitaxel and nab-paclitaxel.
These chemotherapy drugs are notorious for causing long-lasting pain or tingling in your hands, feet or legs. Cryotherapy reduced the incidence of peripheral neuropathy from chemotherapy by 55% in this meta-analysis.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
With the wind chill, you can experience from -140 to -210 for three minutes. You do it in swimwear and goggles.
There are metabolic benefits to doing this, but now, also neuropathy benefits during chemo, as well.
The cost can be as low as $250 for a month of daily visits.
What nerves get damaged in the body from chemo? Is it generalized nerve damage or concentrated in one area?
That cold temperature must be brutal, even for only a couple of minutes. Brrrr...I hate being cold!
As the article says above, "These chemotherapy drugs are notorious for causing long-lasting pain or tingling in your hands, feet or legs." I am currently undergoing chemo and I have neuropathy in my hands. It darkens the color of my palms, causes numbness, and makes it hard to grasp objects, especially small ones like screws and paperclips.
BTTT...
That sounds brutal. Sorry to hear that. Are you going to try the cryotherapy?
I’ve got what I think is neuropathy in my feet and have had it for a long time. I’m going to see the doc this week to see what’s going on.
I am sorry for your cancer and chemo. My wife was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and had her first chemo treatment 2 weeks ago. So far, minimal side effects.
This article is quite timely.
Best of luck with your treatments and full cure!!
There is also a treatment for chemo folks where they wear a cap that chills the head, which Apparently reduces hair loss too
Tell your doc about that immediately if you haven’t. I have irreversible neuropathy in my feet now, and a little NEUROPATHY in the hands- the hands were worse, but they did clear up a little bit-butmthe feet didn’t. I can stub my toe now and not feel pain like I used to- I can feel that something g happened of ccourse, but not the pain. In one hand I had a nerve severed due to operation on tumors, and the hand on the top is numb and I’ve burnt it several times and didn’t know it reaching into oven to take out a roast or steaks.
Not fun. But do tell the doc. They may want to reduce the chemo or something, maybe a. Drug change or something. Not,sure what they. An do for it. Are ou taking alpha lipoic acid while doing the chemo? Supposed to help I guess slow the progression. Gotta be a certain type r-alpha or something like that.
Have her look into alpha Lippincott acid supplements while on the chemo. I didn’t know about it till after the chemo and I got the neuropathy.
This is the first I've heard of it. I'll ask my oncologist about it next time I see her.
Thank you, and best of luck to you and your wife and prayers for her full recovery.
She knows about it, but hasn't suggested anything in the way of treatment except keeping my hands moisturized. I'll bring up the cryotherapy next time I see her and see if it's available in my area.
"I have irreversible neuropathy in my feet now, and a little NEUROPATHY in the hands- the hands were worse, but they did clear up a little bit-butmthe feet didn’t. I can stub my toe now and not feel pain like I used to- I can feel that something g happened of ccourse, but not the pain. In one hand I had a nerve severed due to operation on tumors, and the hand on the top is numb and I’ve burnt it several times and didn’t know it reaching into oven to take out a roast or steaks."
It's funny, but I can still feel pain in my hands and fingers where the neuropathy is worst, like if I touch a hot pan or happen to poke myself with a sharp object. It's more just numbness and difficulty having any tactile grip with my fingers so that I'm afraid to drop things because I can't tell how tight I'm holding it. It's especially frustrating picking up really small things like screws and paperclips.
"Not fun. But do tell the doc. They may want to reduce the chemo or something, maybe a. Drug change or something. Not,sure what they. An do for it. Are ou taking alpha lipoic acid while doing the chemo? Supposed to help I guess slow the progression. Gotta be a certain type r-alpha or something like that."
I'll look into that. Thanks.
When I was first getting the peripheral neuropathy it was like that - tingling, pins and needles feeling, but still had feeling but then it ot worse on the second round of chemo- now they are quite numb. Znd I get this weird feeling thst my socks,are all bunched up under my feet, but they aren’t, they just feel,that way for some reason. Wish I had known about neuropathy sooner but not sure there was much thst could have been done except maybe the alpha lipoic a Cid and bentfotiamine I think was the other suppliment.
My wife has had breast cancer twice. My sister in law once. My sister once and she had it pretty bad.
All are more than 10 years on from their bouts and battles and all are fine, at least in that regard.
My wife worked while on chemo..it’s is SO DIFFERENT than what it was 50 years ago!
None of them had any real side effects during treatment or after.
And I would imagine in the past decade plus since they were treated, it only got better.
You sound like someone who is very supportive and I am glad that your wife has you there.
I will say prayers and as a husband of a twice survivor, I know a little about the path.
Feel free to PM if you ever want to, even to just chew the fat.
Ciao and have a good day.
Yes, of all the side effects from chemo, this is the one that bothers me the most. Hopefully we can both get some relief for this. God bless you and stay strong.
Don’t know about that but I had some really ugly dimpled skin from getting hit with shrapnel from an IED. Had it for years, pretty disturbing to look at.
The doc put this thing that looked like a vaccuum cleaner hose and a big oval cup on the area (and the other side so I would be balanced). It froze the fat under my skin, then they did a massage (very painful). It was literally frozen.
Two treatments (90 days apart) of this killed the fat cells, and while the skin was still mildly discolored, it was smooth and no longer looked like I had little chunks blasted out of me with a giant shotgun.
Apparently it selectively kills fat cells and they don’t come back. The result was the skin was “evenly” distributed and no longer selectively dead.
They now use this for liposuction for vain people.
Thanks fidelis- may God bless you and wife as well. Kind,of hard to say that when someone is facing cancer, I know, but may you both find solace in him while enduring it.
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