My 68yo mother started intensive chemo and radiation last week for stage 3 lung cancer. Chemo was every day/5days .first treatment 330 minutes and then 90 minutes every day. Chemo today was 300 minutes but as she was starting steroids before chemo she had intense chills and very cold, hbp, teeth chattering. They stopped treatments and took her to ER. They are telling us her heart enzymes are elevated and keeping her overnight for observation. What does thus mean? Will her body be ably to tolerate continued treatments planned for next 6 weeks. 1st and 4th week everyday and one treatment in between other weeks. What should we ask drs. What caused this. Very concerned
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Lung cancer stage 3 requires aggressive treatment and care. This might not be able to be treated by surgery and chemotherapy and radiation therapy might be required to stabilize the disease. Chemotherapy Chat Doctor.  These medications cause elevation of heart enzymes due to the stress on the heart. It is also possible that her cardiac function is otherwise on the decline due to aging, and she might have been prone to cardiac ischemia. To make sure that there are no future cardiac events, it is important to evaluate her cardiac rhythm and function in detail. This is the reason she has been kept under observation. An echocardiography is important to be done and the left ventricular ejection fraction to be evaluated. Treatment continuation with chemotherapy depends on the cardiac reserve to function properly. The echocardiography result and left ventricular ejection fraction are important to be discussed with her doctor. Please do not worry.