Neuropathy is a painful condition caused by damaged nerves. It can cause a host of problems including dizziness, weakness, numbness to the extremities, and painful sensations like tingling and burning. It can also cause remittent soreness in the muscles of the legs and lower arms. It can be brief, last for years or never go away.

Before I started chemo, I was told about the possible side effects ? loss of hair (not a possibility but a definite), nausea, fatigue, mouth sores and the one that I was concerned about the least - neuropathy. There are many different chemo drugs used to treat lymphoma, and the one cited most often to cause neuropathy is vincristine (Oncovin) or the ?O? in CHOP. I had experienced this drug on six occasions.

I had my last chemo in June, and it wasn't until November that I started to have problems with my elbows. The pain reached the point to where I had to get cortisone shots, which only provided temporary relief. My elbows bothered me for almost two years.

I blamed my bad elbows on the thunder sticks I had used at the Angels baseball games for months. If you watched the 2002 baseball playoffs and the World Series, you most likely noticed these weapons of mass destruction. Basically, they look like inflatable bats that when banged together make a deafening noise. During the playoffs and World Series, I (as did everyone in the stadium) used these nonstop for nine innings. While the elbows didn't hurt at the end of the World Series, I was hearing impaired.

It wasn't until my husband told me he thought I had neuropathy that I even thought that was the cause. After all, months had passed since I had vincristine. I assumed if I had problems, it would be during the treatments, not months later. Apparently, what I experienced months after treatment isn't that unusual; although I'm still not convinced I had neuropathy. I think it's most likely that I had a vulnerable area that was made worse by overuse.