If you are having treatment that has a high risk of causing nerve damage, your treatment team will monitor you closely for early signs of peripheral neuropathy. Sometimes, peripheral neuropathy may be diagnosed after you tell your cancer specialist or general practitioner (GP) about your symptoms.
If your doctor suspects that you have peripheral neuropathy, they will check how the symptoms affect your daily life and may ask you to complete a symptom checklist.
The doctor may also check your:
- awareness of where your body is moving – you close your eyes and answer questions about the position of parts of your body
- strength – you push against the doctor to check for weakness in your arms or legs
- sensation – your response to different types of sensations, including touch, temperature and sharp or blunt objects, will be checked
- reflexes – your ankles, knees and elbows are gently tapped with a small hammer to check their automatic movement
- balance and coordination – you may be asked to walk in a straight line or balance on one leg
- blood pressure – your blood pressure is measured when you are lying down and standing up to see if there is a difference.
In some cases, you may be referred to a neurologist (a specialist doctor who diagnoses and treats diseases of the nervous system). They may arrange a test called a nerve conduction study, to check how many cells are working and how quickly they send electrical signals along to the next cells.
Based on your symptoms and test results, your doctors may give the peripheral neuropathy a grade. This is usually a grade of 1 to 4, with grade 4 being the most severe and needing urgent attention.
It’s important to tell your treatment team if you start having any symptoms of peripheral neuropathy or notice a change in your symptoms. Adjusting your cancer treatment may allow the nerves to recover and avoid permanent damage. Your team can also check if anything else is causing the symptoms.
→ READ MORE: Treating peripheral neuropathy
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Dr Fiona Day, Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist, Calvary Mater Newcastle, NSW; James Chirgwin, Senior Physiotherapist – Oncology, Haematology and Palliative Care, The Wesley Hospital, QLD; Kim Kerin-Ayres, Nurse Practitioner Cancer Survivorship, Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre, Concord Hospital, NSW; Melanie Moore, Lead Exercise Physiology Clinical Supervisor, UC Cancer Wellness Clinic, University of Canberra, ACT; Olivia Palac, Acting Assistant Director, Occupational Therapy, Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD; Danielle Rippin, Consumer; Dr Jane Wheatley, Clinical and Health Psychologist, Department of Pain Medicine, St Vincent’s Health Network, Sydney, NSW.
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