After effects of Carboplatin

[karenmarriott99]

My mom was diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer back in January this year. She has had 6 sessions of chemotherapy in total (Carboplatin). She had chemo every 3 weeks and surprisingly she coped very well with the treatment. She finished her treatment at the beginning of July and has been quite well apart from tiredness. She is 79.

In August her youngest brother passed away suddenly and I am not sure whether the shock of losing her brother has had an impact on her health and caused her to be unwell or whether the symptoms she is experiencing are the after effects of the chemo. She is extremely tired, forgetful, feels dizzy and has been losing her balance, she has fallen over a couple of times. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms following Chemotherapy or should I be concerned?

I am really worried!!!

[Elaine141]

I am sorry to hear about your mums diagnosis but delighted that she was able to tolerate her chemotherapy with little side effects. My husband was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in June 2015 and unfortunately was only able to tolerate 5 chemo sessions. With regards to the problems your mum is experiencing you should contact her consultant or lung specialist nurse and explain things to them they have the knowledge and experience as unfortunately this could be progression of the disease but at least you will be fully aware. My husband has unfortunately experienced a set back and has been admitted to the hospice. Take good care of yourself xx

[karenmarriott99 in reply to Elaine141]

Hi Elaine, thank you for taking the time to reply to my post and I am sorry to hear your husband has suffered a set back and has been admitted to the hospice. I am going to contact the specialist nurse tomorrow as you suggested and see what they say about the symptoms that my mom is experiencing. Her last appointment showed a good partial response to the treatment so I’m struggling to understand how unwell she is feeling.

I would like to wish you strength and good wishes during your husbands illness. Take care of yourself as well xx

[juliepoolie01]

Hey Karen, you need to call your lung cancer specialist nurse or consultant as soon as possible. It is possible it is side effects but as stated could be progression which would require immediate attention! I wish you all the best Julie x

[karenmarriott99 in reply to juliepoolie01]

Hi Julie, thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I am going to contact the specialist nurse tomorrow and see what they say. I am hoping it is just the after effects of the chemo and not progression of the disease although deep down it has crossed my mind that it could have spread! We were told at the last appointment that the tumour had responded well to the treatment but her symptoms are very worrying and her health was better whilst she was receiving the treatment. Thanks again for the advice xx

[juliepoolie01 in reply to karenmarriott99]

Hey Karen, let me know how it all goes!! I have my fingers and toes crossed for uou and your Mumxxx

[karenmarriott99 in reply to juliepoolie01]

Thank you Julie and I have taken everyone’s advice and contacted the specialist nurse who is going to suggest a brain scan is carried out out just to check that everything is okay (hopefully). Watching my mom very closely, I can’t help but be very fearful as she has gone very frail and seems to be getting worse. I will keep you updated on her condition. Thanks again for your good wishes x

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi karenmarriot99,

I am so sorry to hear about your mums symptoms.As the previous posts indicate you should contact contact your mums LCNS. If you haven't managed to speak to her by now you should contact your mums GP ASAP. The GP may examine her (for example,check her ears,balance etc) to see if there is anything other than the side effects of chemo.I imagine they might also want to do a scan.

Best wishes to you and your mum.

All the team at the Roy Castle Helpline

[karenmarriott99 in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

Thank you and I have taken your advice and contacted the specialist nurse who is going to suggest a brain scan. I have also requested a phone conversation with our GP, fortunately, we share the same GP and I down on her notes as first point of contact so she will speak to me about my mom. Thanks again for your advice.

[karenmarriott99]

Since my last post and after contacting our SLCN and our GP, we finally got an appointment regarding a course of radiotherapy. The good news is that they have agreed to give her treatment but it will be a reduced dosage over two weeks rather than four weeks. The not so good news is that she is not well at all and she is really unbalanced and has had a few falls. I’m scared to leave her on her own now! Her treatment starts today - I’m worried it won’t go ahead 😕