Understanding Peripheral Neuropathy and Cancer
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Understanding Peripheral Neuropathy and Cancer
The impact of peripheral neuropathy
This varies from person to person, but can include:
- discomfort and pain from physical symptoms
- trouble completing usual tasks (e.g. doing up buttons)
- high risk of burns and cuts due to numbness, which can increase the risk of infection during chemotherapy
- risk of not noticing injuries, which may become more serious because they aren’t treated promptly
- high risk of falls and difficulty walking due to numbness or pain in your feet or feeling off-balance
- constipation and lack of bowel or bladder control
- poor sleep because of shooting pains
- not being able to drive because of symptoms
- feeling isolated or that you have lost your independence
- not being able to return to work or usual activities
- money issues because of health care costs.
Call Cancer Council 13 11 20 for help with these impacts.
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This information is reviewed by
This information was last reviewed December 2024 by the following panel: Dr Fiona Day, Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist, Calvary Mater Newcastle, NSW; James Chirgwin, Senior Physiotherapist – Oncology, Haematology and Palliative Care, The Wesley Hospital, QLD; Kim Kerin-Ayres, Nurse Practitioner Cancer Survivorship, Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre, Concord Hospital, NSW; Melanie Moore, Lead Exercise Physiology Clinical Supervisor, UC Cancer Wellness Clinic, University of Canberra, ACT; Olivia Palac, Acting Assistant Director, Occupational Therapy, Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD; Danielle Rippin, Consumer; Dr Jane Wheatley, Clinical and Health Psychologist, Department of Pain Medicine, St Vincent’s Health Network, Sydney, NSW.