Lumps in arm from Chemo

[rossnbren]

Good Evening Ladies... hope all well with you🌸😊... I’m on Gem and Cissplaten for recurrence and now have very painful inflamed lumps in my forarm, last chemo in that hand/arm was 4 weeks ago. GP gave me cream, Hirudoid to help but still very painful.. any ideas?.. Apparently not an infection...Big hugs🤗

[Katmal-UK]

Hi are the lumps on the site of the catheter? Kathy xx

[rossnbren in reply to Katmal-UK]

No further up the arm.

[Katmal-UK in reply to rossnbren]

Oh, I've had on site of catheter but not further up. Id give the CNS a call just to ease your mind. xx

[Eriksendi]

I had redness and some small lumps further down my arm. I went to a and e as was worried about clots. They did an ultrasound and said no clots but was inflammation - phlebitis. They said it would reduce in time but could try voltarol cream which I did. That cleared mine but I would follow the advice given above and check with your Cns.

[Lindaura]

Oh dear, you need to call your Chemo Emergency line!

You need your chemo team, not your GP.

Please call right away!

Best wishes,

Laura

[rossnbren]

Thank you Ladies

[Lizchips]

Most likely inflamed lymph nodes. I would try heating pad. Maybe see about coming off cysplatin it's very strong switch to sister drug carboplaten. I had reaction to cysplatin myself had to switch. Best wishes, Liz

[Natsmb]

First, I'm really sorry to hear that you're having to deal with that. I will tell you my own experience but I really have no idea if it's going to match yours so I'll just give you the details and you can determine for yourself. I also agree with what everyone else said that it would be a good idea to touch base with your oncologist team. That way if they're familiar with this they can save you some steps in time. However, my experience is, unless it's something they deal with regularly, they're just going to make some more guesses and they tend to guess in the medicine department versus just some of the more common sense ideas that are simpler and less invasive.

I had lumps in similar places and at the base of my neck near the lymph node areas and traveling down from the lymph node areas. I described them as painfully dull and distracting. The ones closer to my lymph nodes were just very uncomfortable and sometimes if I touched them, they seemed to get a little inflamed and achy. The ones further out had sharp little pains when I touch them. Like my nerves were on fire.

My doctor didn't have any real answers except to try to give me some anti-inflammatory drugs which didn't help and some other steroids which I did not want to take and also which didn't help. I ended up taking some Percocet to help with some of the muscular tightness that was a result of just responding to being so miserable and over time I started to reduce sugar and caffeine because those are things that had a tendency to creative inflammation in my body. It seems like about a week after I stopped all sugar and caffeine (NOT FUN!) some of that inflammation and sensitivity went down. Not all of it. About 4 weeks after I had completely ended treatment I was on, the lymph node lumps had dissipated and I barely noticed them anymore.

I wish you all the best. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this.