I asked Adrienne to really think about the type and intensity of the pain in her hip. After walking on Wednesday night, she says the pain feels like that in her feet, which we've assumed is peripheral neuropathy. Adrienne's problems with peripheral neuropathy began after her second transplant while in Seattle. The pain and weakness were so severe then that she was unable to walk. Physical therapy and medications helped resolve the problem, but the pain in her feet has continued when she does any sustained walking (like for marathons and half marathons).
One of Adrienne's chemos, Vinorelbine, causes peripheral neuropathy. That drug, combined with the damage from previous chemos, seems to be causing the current problem. Adrienne took Neurontin for this problem a couple of years ago and it was very effective, so she's going to try it again. We'll get the prescription on Monday when she goes in for her chemo.
Adrienne and Daniel had a very good visit to Santa Barbara to see their dad this week. They said the weather was perfect. Next time, I think Daniel will take his friend Brian because they really like to pal around together.
We sent the initial enrollment paperwork into Claremont McKenna this week. Now Adrienne needs to complete the forms to turn down the other schools. She is looking forward to her senior prom and graduation in the next couple of months.
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Adrienne was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1996 at age 9. She had multiple relapses, two bone marrow transplants, and a range of chemos and radiation therapies, and passed away on October 1, 2009. We are heartbroken.
Out with the Girls
About Adrienne
- Adrienne
- Adrienne was very much like others with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, the most common cancer in teens and young adults. What was unusual is that she had it for more than half her life and ultimately, it took her life. Hodgkin's is curable for about 80% people, but Adrienne was one of the 20% for whom a cure was elusive. She considered herself lucky since treatments had been there for her with each relapse but she ran out of treatment options and her body just couldn’t take any more. As she said, "Though I’ve now had cancer for most of my life, I no longer plan my life around it; instead, I try to plan cancer around my life." We hope you can take inspiration from her and how she lived her life.
1 comment:
Peripheral neuropathy, like its name says, occurs in the periphery of the limb...like the toes, feet.... So pain in the "hip" (by which I'm assuming you really mean buttock, not the hip joint) is not something associated with a peripheral neuropathy. More commonly this has a simpler musculoskeletal origin (e.g. muscle strain). And sometimes buttock pain originates in the spine (referring pain to the buttock). It's important to understand the origin, since the treatment of neuropathic vs. musculoskeletal pain differs.
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