MBC treatment aims to extend life but also comes with side effects that can impact quality of life. There are ways to manage the different types of side effects so that you can live the best life possible.
This month, we continue our series about the different kinds of side effects and advice from experts about how they can be managed. This month, we focus on pain and neuropathy. Neuropathy is pain caused by nerve damage and is sometimes a side effect of treatments such as some types of chemotherapy.
Side effect management is an active area of study in clinical trials. Enrolling in a clinical trial that is studying better ways to prevent or reduce side effects may help you have a higher quality of life and may help people in the future.
Visit the links below to read expert suggestions of ways to manage pain and for clinical trials that are studying ways to manage side effects.
Ways to Manage Pain
- National Cancer Institute: The Cancer Pain PDQ®, Patient’s Version describes the different types of pain that people with cancer may experience and ways to manage the pain
- Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (webinar): Dr. Kimberly Curseen explains that pain from MBC treatments can be managed with palliative care (discussion about pain and palliative care begins at 21:55)
Ways to Manage Neuropathy
- SHARE Cancer Support (webinar): Dr. Diana Martinez describes the use of medical cannabis for neuropathy due to chemotherapy
- American Cancer Society: Dr. Norah Lynn Henry explains differences in how Black women experience neuropathy due to chemotherapy and offers tips for managing neuropathy
- George Washington University Cancer Center: Cold therapy prevented the development of neuropathy due to chemotherapy in more than half of patients with breast cancer
MBC Clinical Trials
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for Pain
- Metastatic Trial Search: Trials for Managing Side Effects
Last Modified on March 3, 2025