Cancer treatment side effect: Muscle cramps
If you’ve ever had a charley horse — or a severe sudden spasm in your calf — you know that muscle cramps are no joke.
But did you also know that muscle cramps can be a side effect of cancer treatment? Below, I’ll explain why these uncomfortable spasms sometimes happen to cancer patients, how we treat them, and whether they’re temporary or permanent.
Why do muscle cramps occur in cancer patients?There are...
5 things to expect after finishing chemotherapy
If you’re receiving chemotherapy as a part of your cancer treatment, you’ve probably already figured out ways to make it a little more manageable...
Peripheral neuropathy: Causes, symptoms and treatments
Many patients receive chemotherapy as part of their cancer treatment plan. These drugs have long shown benefits in extending patients’ lives...
Multiple myeloma survivor and employee: ‘MD Anderson really is the best’
When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in October 2009, I knew exactly where I wanted to go for my cancer treatment.
Because with MD Anderson’s help, my late mother astonished everyone by living an additional 15 years with a very rare form of cancer called liposarcoma. And by 2009, I’d been working at MD Anderson for more than a decade — first as a nurse in the operating room unit, later as a nurse in the business office of...
Pancreatic cancer survivor: Whipple procedure made me cancer-free after ‘inoperable’ tumor
When I was diagnosed with stage III pancreatic cancer in January 2017, I was pretty shocked. Both of my parents died of heart disease in their...
Breast cancer survivor: Take your prescription medications
As a general rule, I don’t take medicine unless I absolutely have to. I’ve never been one to swallow an aspirin at the first sign of a fever...
How I dealt with permanent hair loss and other side effects
When I first lost my hair due to breast cancer treatment, I often heard people say, “Don’t worry. It’s only hair.” The implication was that...
4 common cancer pain management myths
Nearly half of cancer patients experience pain caused by the cancer itself, cancer treatment or factors that aren’t related to cancer. When...
Colorectal cancer survivor turns to clinical trial for neuropathy relief
Over the last year and a half, Shams Peerbhai has tried just about everything to cope with peripheral neuropathy, a cancer treatment side...
How I found strength during breast cancer treatment
When I received a phone call about an abnormality discovered during my mammogram in December 2016, I didn’t think much of it. I was prone...