Fibromyalgia & Increased Risk of Neuropathic Pain in Chemotherapy

Fibromyalgia is a complex disease whose causes are unknown. One treatment for many types of cancer is the administration of drugs toxic to cancerous cells, called chemotherapy. A person with fibromyalgia may develop cancer and undergo chemotherapy treatment.

Fibromyalgia

• Until a few years ago many doctors believed that this disease, found mostly in women, was psychological response. Because lab or imaging tests could show no cause, those physicians believed it was not "real.". Now, fibromyalgia is recognized as a disease with specific symptoms. The primary symptom, which determines the diagnosis, is muscle pain with defined tender points. Tender points are spots, usually around the neck, shoulders and lower back, that ache for many months or years. Tender points become especially painful when pressure is applied to them.

  According to the National Institutes of Health,"The soft-tissue pain of fibromyalgia is described as deep-aching, radiating, gnawing, shooting or burning, and ranges from mild to severe. Fibromyalgia sufferers tend to wake up with body aches and stiffness."

  In addition to muscle pain, people with fibromyalgia suffer from a wide variety of other symptoms. Some will have many symptoms characteristic of the disease and some only a few. A partial list of specific symptoms includes fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, memory and cognitive difficulties, numbness and tingling, reduced exercise tolerance, sleep disturbances, depression and tension or migraine headaches

Cancer

• Cancer is a disease resulting from the growth of extra cells in the body that form a mass called a tumor. Cells from malignant (cancerous) tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body. Cancer is not one disease, but many. Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, breast cancer or pancreatic cancer. The spread of cancer from any one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Treatment depends on the type of cancer, where it is found and how much it has grown. Treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy drugs, used to fight cancer, are made to kill fast-growing cells. These drugs work throughout the entire body. They can affect healthy, fast-growing cells as well. The damage to healthy tissues is called side effects. The normal cells most likely to be affected are those that are fast-growing, such as hair and certain cells in the blood.

Side Effects

• Every person doesn't get every possible side effect from chemotherapy treatment and some people get few, if any. Doctors may prescribe medications to prevent some side effects or ease them if they appear.

Conclusions

• Some people with fibromyalgia are more sensitive to medication side effects than people without this condition. As a result, they may suffer more pain connected with chemotherapy. They may have to choose between the risk of greater severity of their fibromyalgia symptoms and the risk of cancer that is uncontrolled.