Cinco Vidas

“I finished Chemo Nov 08 but still have the pain in my feet,” says survivor Kim.

“I finished chemo in Oct 08,” says Kinden, “and still have sore feet….For me it is inside the skin, not really on the outside.”

Most of the time, sore feet are the result of a side effect called “hand-foot syndrome,” or palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE). (Read our post on PPE.) Certain types of chemotherapy drugs (like Xeloda, 5FU, Doxil, and more) cause the condition by leaking out of small blood vessels in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The leakage results in redness, tenderness, and sometimes peeling.

PPE isn’t the only cause of cancer-related sore feet, however, Edema—or swelling—is another. Some cancer patients have to go up a shoe size after treatment. Sometimes, it’s caused by nerve damage, or what’s known as neuropathy. Sometimes, feet are just sore, and no one—least of all the doctor—is sure why.

If you’re suffering from sore feet, you’re probably more concerned about easing the pain than figuring out why it’s there. What can you do? There are several standard recommendations. Avoid long exposure to hot water, use ice packs or frozen veggies on the bottoms of feet, try thicker moisturizers like organic Chamomile Hand Cream or Suki’s Butter Cream Healing Salve for cracking and peeling, and use over-the-counter pain relievers. Vitamin B6 is reputed to help reduce symptoms (100 mg a day), as is elevating the legs or using compression socks if you have swelling.

For many people, however, these things aren’t enough to give them the relief they need. Jean Lazar, massage therapist and Cinco Vidas expert, strongly recommends massage. A one-hour foot massage has helped many of her patients get back on their feet.

Writer and breast-cancer fighter Monique Doyle Spencer recommends henna powder. “If you get a burning feeling in your feet from your therapy, this will cool it,” she says. Find the recipe at her blog. Other fighters recommend swabbing the feet with heavy cream, then slipping on soft socks for 30 minutes to an hour, or overnight.

Wear shoes that fit well. Women, especially, need to be more cautious than usual when choosing footwear. We have many styles and fashions that look great, but aren’t great for our feet. See a podiatrist if you need to, get some cooling insoles, and choose brands that are well made and well ventilated.

For patients with neuropathy (numbness and tingling caused by chemo drugs), your doctor may have medications such as Lyrica and Neurontin you can try. Wear shoes with rubber soles to help you avoid falling (if your balance is iffy). The coolness of the “Chillow Pillow” may help you sleep, particularly if you have restless legs and feet. If you can, turn to swimming for exercise so you can get the pressure off your feet. Some studies have shown acupuncture to be beneficial, as well.

For most patients, foot soreness does eventually go away, but sometimes it can take longer than you’d like. As survivor Phoenix says, “After a year after chemo I thought I was completely better generally, but now I know it wasn’t true; it takes a long time and each year that passes you feel a bit better than before.”

Do you have recommendations for easing the pain of sore feet? Please let us know.

Photo courtesy of two feet via Flickr.com.

Tags: hand and foot syndrome, PPE, sore feet

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 9:01 am and is filed under Hands and Feet, Side Effects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.