Update 6/6/08

Peripheral neuropathy

What is that you may ask?

Peripheral neuropathy (pronounced per-if-eral new-rop-athy) is a term used to describe changes in the way that particular nerves work.

Hmm you ask? Can you give me some background?

The nervous system is made up of the brain, the spinal cord and a complicated network of nerves that thread throughout the body. It has two main divisions:
the central nervous system (CNS), which consists of the brain and spinal cord
the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which consists of nerves that carry messages between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body (such as the arms, legs, hands and feet).
Nerves carry nerve impulses back and forth between the areas of the body and the brain. Nerves are made up of nerve cells called neurons.

Neurons are very thin. Some are very small, and others can be 3 feet (1 metre) long. Many are shaped a bit like stars that have been pulled at each end so that they have long fingers. The fingers of one nerve cell reach almost to the next neuron, but there is a gap between them.
Motor nerves carry messages out from the brain to all the muscles in the body. Once the muscle receives the message it will react with a movement. Messages can be sent from the brain to any part of the body.

Sensory nerves in the body carry messages to the brain from sensory receptors all around the body. They enable us to sense physical feelings such as pain, touch and vibration and also allow us to know where our body is in relation to the space and objects around us.

When a nerve cell is stimulated by a message such as heat, cold, touch, or sound vibrations, it begins to create a tiny electrical pulse in the cell. This electrical impulse causes a chemical change in the nerve that travels the full length of the neuron. When the electrical impulse reaches the end of the cell it usually triggers the release of chemicals that carry the electrical impulse to the next nerve cell. In this way messages can be sent from nerves anywhere in the body to the spinal cord and then up to the brain.

Wow you are thinking...what are the symptoms?

Muscle weakness - Damage to the motor nerves may cause weakness in the arms and legs, which may make it difficult to walk or to do daily tasks. You may find that your arms or legs feel heavy
Pain in the area - Known as neuropathic pain
Numbness - Known as hypoaesthesia
Loss of sensation - Known as anaesthesia

And finally you may be pondering...why is this in Tom's blog?

Chemotherapy and other drug treatments for cancer are the most common cause of peripheral neuropathy in people with cancer as they can cause damage to peripheral nerves. Ever since Tom got his blood clot back in August 2007 he has had varying degrees of pain, numbness, and weird feeling in his hands and feet. Luckily he brought up to his doctors so often that I had the discussion memorized. Mostly the doctors say it is due to the blood clot. Unfortunately it took a visit last week to another doctor for us to learn that this presentation is either due to his chemo meds or a result of surgery. Since the symptoms vary it is probably chemo related so when he is cured and off chemo these symptoms will reduce and may go away.

How weird is it that finger tingling and foot numbness could be due to a drug designed to kill your dangerous brain cells? Sounds like a sit com.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

Love Theresa

(primary source: www.cancerbackup.org)