How does chemotherapy effect diabetes?

Patients with diabetes know all too well that they are susceptible to problems with their peripheral nerves. The most common problem is nerve entrapment, like numbness in the fingers from carpal tunnel syndrome. The next most common problem is the diffuse numbness and pain that is due to peripheral neuropathy, which begins in the feet and moves up into the legs. Neuropathy can also affect the hands, but not usually until the late stages. For the person with diabetes who develops cancer, some of the newest and best cancer fighting drugs have a side effect which, too, is related to the peripheral nerves, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. The diabetic, already at risk for nerve compression and neuropathy, is more likely to be prone to this chemotherapy side effect.

The chemotherapy drugs currently in use that have a high risk for causing neuropathy are those related to the compound cisplatin and those related to the compound taxol. For those patients with the cancer called multiple myeloma, the drug thalidomide, highly effective for this cancer, unfortunately also causes neuropathy.

Please consult your doctor and discuss before going for it and for details visit http://www.helpondiabetes.com

My friend's cancer actually simulated insulin in her system. She had to take nearly no insulin between the diagnosis of the cancer and the final Chemo treatment. She has been type 1 diabetic for 44 years. She could eat nearly anything and everything she wanted for about 6 months.

The nausea and general mailaise the Chemo caused her, caused loss of weight so she had to eat a lot of foods she hadn't eaten in years, but that wasn't a bad deal either.

She is now back on her regular food plan and insulin regimen.

Your doctor should know. Depending on the location of the cancer, I suppose chemo could hurt the pancreas (if your type two). I think the biggest side effect is that poor diabetes control+chemo will make you nauseated and exhausted.