Tendon pain and stiffness?

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Alicia70598
Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
edited June 2014 in Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

About halfway through Taxol, I started feeling pain and stiffness in the tendons of my right arm. That's the arm with the lymph nodes removed. Although I don't have lymphedema, I saw a physical therapist who specializes in lymphedema, and she showed me a message technical for lymph drainage and exercises. But the pain and stiffness persist. 

It doesn't help that I type a lot for work. At first I thought it was some kind of tendinitis, but the PT didn't think so.  

Could this be a side effect of Taxol? Does anyone else have this problem?

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited November 2008

    Hi, Alicia ~ I've had what is probably a similar experience.  Halfway through chemo (Taxotere+Cytoxan), my left thumb (mast. side) became difficult to move.  It got progressively worse, and now it's frozen and doesn't bend.  I wasn't sure if it was from the Taxotere or possibly the Neulasta, but I'm theorizing that it started with inflammation that caused damage to the joint and the tendons.  I'm about 7 weeks post my last chemo tx and will have to seek therapy for it if it doesn't resolve on its own soon.    Deanna

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  • Alicia70598
    Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
    edited November 2008

    Wow. That's horrible. What does your oncologist think of what happened?

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited November 2008

    Alicia ~ My local onc didn't think the problem was related to chemo, and insisted it was coincidence.  He sent blood for rheumatoid factor testing, although I've never had any arthritis symptoms or joint issues.  The blood test came back totally negative, but he didn't have any other explanation.  I am also having a great deal of pain (literally awakens me at night) in my right leg that I believe is still from the Neulasta.  Onc's office says they've never heard of pain from Neulasta lasting this long, but I have found multiple references to it here and other places on the internet.  It's frustrating and disappointing to me that SE's that so obviously started concurrently with poisoning my body with chemo and administering a very powerful bone marrow affecting drug can be brushed off as nothing more than "coincidence" by otherwise intelligent medical professionals.  It's just not logical.   Deanna

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  • Alicia70598
    Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
    edited November 2008

    I agree, dlb. I guess some doctors specialize to the point where they don't explore much beyond their area of expertise. 

    I suppose it's just a matter of time before studies come out to confirm what many people find in their experiences. I've never been one to need that confirmation in the face of enough anecdotal evidence (and logical conclusions), but some docs are skeptical until they see the hard science.

    Your post made me think about a study that just came out about Arimidex. Apparently it causes arthritis-like symptoms for the majority of women who take it.  The symptoms go away after a year to 18 months. I can't remember what journal it was in. I saw the news release on OncologySTAT, which is a great website for cancer research. It's for oncologist, but anyone can register for free. 

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