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Peripheral Neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy is usually diagnosed by your health care provider, by taking a thorough history and conducting a physical examination. Your doctor or nurse should teach you how to regularly assess your nervous system. If you notice numbing and tingling of the hands and feet, changes in sensation of pain, touch, temperature, or position sense, you need to notify your doctor. Also, if you notice difficulty with activities such as buttoning your clothes or writing, you will want to let your doctor know. The most reliable way for your healthcare provider to diagnose peripheral neuropathy is by your report of symptoms. Occasionally other tests (such as nerve conduction or quantitative sensory testing) may be done to understand the specific type of nerve damage and the extent. A nerve conduction velocity test is an electrical test used to detect nerve problems. The nerve is electrically stimulated by an electrode placed on the skin over a nerve. There are other electrodes placed in different places on the skin. The test determines how fast the nerve can carry an impulse. The test can not tell your healthcare provider what changes you are experiencing in your day to day activities, and it can not aide the health care provider with the treatment of the neuropathy, but is can help your healthcare provider understand your symptoms and to determine if peripheral neuropathy is caused by something unrelated to the cancer and the treatment. |
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