← Return to Long-term side effects of pelvic radiation - 6 months after treatment

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@dlgbb, hello there. Although my gynecological cancer was different than yours, because I have sustained a great deal of external and internal beam radiation, in addition to being on immunospressive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis for years, I live with chronic lymphocytopenia, and I had poor nutritional absorption from years of taking NSAIDs. I had StageIIB recurrent vaginal cancer, that resulted in total pelvic exenteration. My exhaustion and GI issues had been great for 3 years. I finally was tested nutritionally (lots of tubes of blood) and was deficient in zinc, iron, B-12 and most other B vitamins. If you've been experiencing diarrhea off and on, you can be tested by a hematology oncologist at your cancer center and see what you need. I have had B-12 injections once a month in addition to B-complex and zinc supplements (and a occasion iron infusion) for a couple of years now. I definitely feel better for it. I'm glad they discovered that you need additional iron. Checking for these other nutritional deficiencies is not completely unusual, but sometimes you do have to be a bit assertive to get some docs order the testing. Insurance does cover it. Just some thoughts!

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Replies to "@dlgbb, hello there. Although my gynecological cancer was different than yours, because I have sustained a..."

@tatersinger ,
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the information. It turns out, after blood work, that my iron was fine, but my B12 is way off, along with my white blood cell count and neutrophils. I am on B12 now and having follow up blood work later this week. Hopefully the numbers improve. From what I have read, low B12 can cause the tingling/buzzy feeling I have been having. We will see where we go from here.