Haven't posted in awhile, so thought I'd check in. I've been dealing with a steady worsening right arm/ hand weakness for the last two years. After being referred to a neurologist and trying physical therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture, in the hopes of avoiding surgery, I finally gave in when symptoms had become so disabling, I could barely hold or do anything with my right hand and arm. Being right handed, this really threw me a curve!
So in April of last year I opted for a posterior cervical foraminotomy/laminectomy at C4/5 to remove bone spurs and open the area that the nerve root passes through, which looked toi be the most obvious culprit. Unfortunatey, my symptoms continued to get worse. I had decided early on that if this surgery didn't work, I wasn't going to do anything more invasive, and I would just learn to live with my disability.
After a few months, I realized that QOL was way more important than I had realized, and went back to the surgeon to discuss other options. The other surgery, that he originally recommended and I was afraid to do, because it would require me to be off Kadcyla for at least 3 months, was now on the table.
So, nine months after the first surgery, I had an ACDF procedure, Anterior Cervical Dissection and Fusion. The plan was to remove the worn out discs and fuse 3 to 4 levels of my spine using cadaver bone, and hold everything in place with a plate and screws. As it turned out they were only able to do two levels because my platelets were too low from the Kadcyla, and there was too much bleeding even though they transfused platelets in the OR.
Well, guess what?? I woke up from surgery, and my right arm was completely paralyzed...WTH!
I just hate it when my husband is right. He has a habit of saying "things could always be worse" whenever I get feeling sorry for myself. It's been 4 weeks since the surgery, and the surgeon has presented my case to his colleagues, and they now think the problem is probably in my brachial plexus. I have an MRI scheduled, so won't know more til then. This actually makes more sense to me, because over the years, since my mastectomy and 36 lymph nodes were removed, my whole right side has gradually collapsed and atrophied. Anyway, this prompted me to do a little research, and I found this very interesting article that was presented at ASCO in 2016.
https://ascopost.com/issues/july-10-...cer-survivors/
The first two paragraphs describe my situation very accurately. If I had read this beforehand, I would have insisted they do an MRI of my whole right side before letting them cut up my neck twice!
Really enjoying the chemo break though, and keeping fingers crossed that my cancer stays quiet, while I wait for my spine to heal, and hopefully fuse.
Maybe some of you will find this information useful, if you are experiencing upper extremity issues.
Thanks for letting me vent!
Kim