"Tight" feet and laser therapy
I may have mentioned before having the unpleasant sensation of "tight feet" which started after my first Chemotherapy Infusion and which I've assumed are a symptom of "Chemo Feet."
Tonight an internet search on “tight feet” brought me to the website of a PMR (physical medicine and rehabilitation) clinic which lists their “programs and techniques” for treating peripheral neuropathy.. These include stem cell therapy and PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections. They also use a “proprietary Class IV therapeutic laser” which they claim delivers a specific frequency of light creating a photoelectric effect at the nerve membrane layer, resulting in “chemical, physiologic, mechanical and structural changes in nerve cell membranes and surrounding tissues.” They also emphasize proper nutrition, improving blood flow, PT (physical therapy).
Is this just marketing mumbo-jumbo, or does anyone on these groups have experience with these techniques - helpful or not?
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Pancreatic Cancer Support Group.
Bkg: Pancreatic Adenocarcoma with Mets dx late Aug 2023.
One course of gemcitabine-abraxane chemo has left me with typical "Chemo Feet (including shins)"; my oncologist has since decided to stop trying to eradicate the tumor and is basically offering palliative care (Symptom management with the hope of improving remaining quality of life - but that's another issue).
I have since learned from reading here that "Chemo Feet" may have been alleviated if not prevented entirely if appropriate actions had been taken at the time of Chemotherapy Infusion.
This has left me with a very bad taste in my mouth about my university-based health care team, as well as a healthy dose of skepticism about standard-of-care protocols.
One of the resources available to those of us seeking a possibly better way of receiving health so-called care, is provided by abbvie. Having an ongoing struggle to get to a predictable Creon dose, despite having made dietary changes that seem to be giving me some benefit from E P I (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) have increased my level of skepticism that I can trust Abbvie, which seems most interested in convincing me to buy their vitamin supplements.
Opinions, please.
P S - My current challenge is trying to identify a local practitioner with actual experience in treating E P I, rather than trying to struggle on, on my own, trying to navigate a reasonable course between various dietary recommendations from sources like Calculator.net.
Oh boy…I hope you don’t think I am out of line saying: Please find an onco who cares-. Many of your comments sound so similar to what was experienced at Mayo Rochester. Zero care for symptom management, which ultimately was lethal-. It’s exhausting being your own advocate. Try adding integrative approaches to SE’s if you can? There are specialized clinics to help w/neuropathy. This is something no one at Mayo told us. ‘We know neuropathy is a side effect of the drug.’ That’s ALL that was ever said. There’s a Mayo doc who specializes in pancreatic-Mark Truty. IMO I’d contact him. As for AbbVie-this was the Mfg of a clinical drug that lead to my spouses demise-. The cancer wasn’t the killer. The cancer had slow to no progression. The trt/AbbVie drug and lack of SE care is what was the killer… I am a believer of ‘trust your gut’. They’re ARE some decent docs-. Wishing you the very best. 🍀
Thanks for your comments, and the suggestion to try to reach Mark Truty.
I have to defend my current oncologist who does care and is as responsive as the system (Epic's MyChart) allows him to be. He is also a realist who has done his due diligence -- perhaps because I seemed to be in a more positive frame of mind than expected. He wanted to make sure that I knew I've already beaten the odds for this diagnosis, that some catastrophe could carry me off at any time, and that after an almost full course of the gemcitabine-abraxane regimen (which had to be started & stopped under my original oncologist for failure of my "elderly" bone marrow to bounce back very vigorously) decided that switching to the other mainstream alternative Chemotherapy was unlikely to make any discernible impact on the outcome, but would make me sicker.
It may be the placebo effect, but I am feeling better mentally, having switched to organic foods & more fresh produce. I'm now looking for ways to detox from glyphosate exposure. I know it's nearly impossible to avoid in most of the world's food supply chains (as are plastic nanoparticles), but I have recognized for years that I do better with my self-diagnosed I B S (retired doc here) when I avoid GMO foods. And yes, I know that this POV is not accepted by mainstream American medicine which seems determined to not stray from the mantra that we in the USA have the best food supply in the world.
I also have a tumor that has been characterized by slow progression, and my gut is telling me that I'd rather not deal with AbbVie any more than strictly necessary. I guess that translates into remembering to take the d'd Creon, according to its current prescription. Reading people's posts on M C C in particular suggests that there's no reliable formula, and that it's basically a trial-and-error process that will probably need adjustment along the way.
Enough about Abbvie. I am spending a lot of time pursuing sources that offer "functional medicine" approaches to both the cure of cancer and treatment of Side Effects. Unfortunately, there seems to be less consensus regarding treatment of the cancer than of the SE. So far I've seen evidence that parsley is good for attacking mature cancer cells, and turmeric for cancer cells and more remarkably, cancer stem cells.
More information on the latter substances would be much appreciated.
There is information online, however, much of it is sponsored and more of it based on studies performed in animal subjects.