Pulmonary embolism during chemo....did you continue tx?

gcpommom

I've had 3 AC tx's, and got a pulmonary embolism.  My onc is giving me a week off from tx.  Do I need to worry about the part chemo played in getting a PE?  Is it safe to continue chemo?  I'm really worried, I read one woman on here whose onc stopped chemo after she got a PE.

webwriter

Bumping! I just read somewhere about a TC gal that had a similar problem to yours. I hope she sees this. I'll try to find it, but I think she had three! Hang in there!

ktym

I think the person you're referring to had pneumonia after the PE still requiring oxygen and that was the issue more then the PE.  The PE is more likely to be a result of the cancer then the chemo.  How you're recuperating will more likely determine how your onc thinks about things more then the PE itself

webwriter

Here's the newest one I found. He and his wife are still looking for answers, but it might be someone you can talk to.

"Hi, this is Brian again.

Thank you very much for all your responses so far.  It has been very helpful to us.  We are definitely planning to get a second and maybe third opinion once we get the diagnosis.

Unfortunately we have been thrown a bit of a curve ball in the process.  My wife posted in the middle of the day on Monday after the CT scan.  We went back in the afternoon for the bone scan and got back home at about 4:30.  At 5:00, the breast surgeon called to tell us that the CT scan from earlier in the day revealed multiple blood clots in her lungs and that we had to go straight back to the hospital so she could be treated immediately for pulmonary embolism.

She packed a few things in case she would be there overnight (we didn't know what to expect), and we got to the emergency room at 6:00.  They were waiting for her and took her right in and started her on heparin - a blood thinner.  She had to wait for some blood tests to come back before they could admit her, but they finally moved her to a regular inpatient room at 1:30 this morning.  Unfortunately, it looks like she will be there for at least 4 days for the treatment to get things stablized.

The worst part is that we still don't know anything more about the extent of the breast cancer because this new issue has taken a front seat right now.  I am still going to try to get the pathology report from the breast surgeon tomorrow so we at least know what we are working with on that end.

This was the last thing the poor girl needed right now.  At least this helps explain why she has been so tired and out of breath lately.  You hate to say that you are glad to have breast cancer, but that is the only reason she had the CT-scan that found the blood clots.  It sounds crazy, but breast cancer might have saved her life.

On the other hand, breast cancer might be the cause of the blood clots.  Has anyone else had a problem with pulmonary embolism?"

webwriter

Here's the newest one I found. He and his wife are still looking for answers, but it might be someone you can talk to.

"Hi, this is Brian again.

Thank you very much for all your responses so far.  It has been very helpful to us.  We are definitely planning to get a second and maybe third opinion once we get the diagnosis.

Unfortunately we have been thrown a bit of a curve ball in the process.  My wife posted in the middle of the day on Monday after the CT scan.  We went back in the afternoon for the bone scan and got back home at about 4:30.  At 5:00, the breast surgeon called to tell us that the CT scan from earlier in the day revealed multiple blood clots in her lungs and that we had to go straight back to the hospital so she could be treated immediately for pulmonary embolism.

She packed a few things in case she would be there overnight (we didn't know what to expect), and we got to the emergency room at 6:00.  They were waiting for her and took her right in and started her on heparin - a blood thinner.  She had to wait for some blood tests to come back before they could admit her, but they finally moved her to a regular inpatient room at 1:30 this morning.  Unfortunately, it looks like she will be there for at least 4 days for the treatment to get things stablized.

The worst part is that we still don't know anything more about the extent of the breast cancer because this new issue has taken a front seat right now.  I am still going to try to get the pathology report from the breast surgeon tomorrow so we at least know what we are working with on that end.

This was the last thing the poor girl needed right now.  At least this helps explain why she has been so tired and out of breath lately.  You hate to say that you are glad to have breast cancer, but that is the only reason she had the CT-scan that found the blood clots.  It sounds crazy, but breast cancer might have saved her life.

On the other hand, breast cancer might be the cause of the blood clots.  Has anyone else had a problem with pulmonary embolism?"

 Thread is here: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/5/topic/731591?page=1#post_1296501

strngwmn39

Just saw your note. I had a DVT (blood clot in my leg) and multiple PE's in April. I continued chemo with one week off. I had this happen after 3 cycles of AC, finished the fourth cycle of AC and am due to start Taxol on Friday of this week. 

I am currently taking Lovenox injections 2x a day.

Michelle 

gcpommom

Michelle:  My PE also occurred after 3 rounds of AC, but I didn't get the 4th, due to racing heart/breathing problems.  I have continued with chemo as well, with a week off here and there due to pain from embolism resulting in ER visit the day of my tx.  I have had 6 weekly taxols since then.

I take the coumadin, because the lovenox is too expensive and my insurance sucks right now.  So far, so good.  No more chest pain or shortness of breath, so I am relieved about that. 

I am glad you, too, caught your PE's before anything serious happened.  I didn't appear to have any leg problems prior, but did have pain/swelling in my elbow prior to the PE.  It is unusual for a blood clot to start there, but it does happen.  I thought the elbow pain was from the neulasta shot, and ignored it.  But chest pain got me to the ER, thank god.  Never would have guessed it was a PE.

Judy

strngwmn39

Judy, 

I was also worried about continuing chemotherapy, but my medical oncologist told me that as long as I was on the Lovenox, the clots were being treated. She said that the chemotherapy is what caused them, and I will continue to have to take these shots for 2 years. I had my first Taxol treatment on Friday of last week (DD) and with the bone and muscle pain I'm experiencing it's hard not to think I have another clot somewhere...

Glad you're doing ok.  

You and I have similar diagnoses (we're both triple negative). I have breast cancer on both sides - DCIS in the right and invasive BC on the left, haven't had surgery yet.

Michelle 

diana50

judy

i had a pulmonary embolism during treatment; after chemo number 4 i think.  it was a large clot in my upper right lobe. i was on heparin shots and then was on coumiden for 6 months. i had no complications and continued my treatemt every three weeks.

i was shocked that i had gotten a PE> (no history of that problem .....or BC for that matter..lol) at any rate; i found out that cancer patients do get blood clots...  because of the hx of PE now, i can't take medicine that can cause clots...(ie..i was put on arimidex in 2002 instead of tamaoxin)

take care. these are complications that can be handled by the medical profession.

diana50

gcpommom

Michelle:  wow,  2 years on Lovenox?  That's a long time, I wonder why some are told  6 months, some a year, and some even longer on these blood thinners?  Makes me nervous about only doing them for 6 months. 

Diana:  It is scary when this happens, and I always think, wow, what if I hadn't noticed something was wrong?  It should definitely be something we are forewarned about, since my onc never mentioned the possibility, and I see that it happens more frequently than I had thought.

Judy

strngwmn39

Judy,

I believe in my case, they feel that the blood clots were caused by the chemotherapy, but they can't be sure that they weren't caused by the cancer itself. (Having cancer is a risk factor for DVTs and PE's all by itself.) Given that I was coughing from the first second that I had AC, they want to make sure that it's not cancer causing the PE's, and the protocol for that is 2 years of Lovenox therapy.

There is no way to be sure of the cause, but there are factors that lean a physician to suspect one or the other. It's likely that chemo is the cause for me, but they want to make sure. I don't mind, but it's quite a drag to take these shots for 2 years. 

 Michelle 

  

Karlindas

Hello! I see this is an old topic, but not to me! I had a gigantic PE after my 6th and last AC.  I had pneumonia after my second ...  Anyway, I take 2 Clexane injections (same thing as Lovenox) per day and have been since May, 2011.  Doctors told me that if I have to have chemo again, they will automatically put me on the Clexane injections.  I will be on the injections until July, 2012 and then I will have to start taking Marevan (same thing as Warfarin).  I am soooo worried about this because the town where I live is far from everything and I will have to travel about three hours a week to get to a somewhat decent hospital to have my blood tested and the marevan dosage adjusted accordingly (I live in the Amazon).  One doctor (a specialist) told me that though it could have been the chemo and cancer that caused the embolism and that I may not have any more problems with that, it would be in my best interest to take Marevan for the rest of my life ...  Another specialist just said that I could stop taking the injections and not take marevan and see what happens ...  I am also taking Arimidex ...  I have a difficult decision to make before my prescription for Clexane injections runs out in July ...  Any advice for me?  I would sure appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Thanks and all the best!