Our new ask-the-expert series will help answer your questions about breast cancer, whether you are newly diagnosed, in treatment or years beyond treatment.

Each month, we will ask a breast cancer expert to respond to your questions on a specific topic during an ask-the-expert residency. Answers to select questions will be posted on our website on an ongoing basis throughout the month.

During the month of September, get your questions answered about neuropathy.

Neuropathy, or pain and numbness in the hands or feet, is a possible side effect of some common breast cancer treatments, including chemotherapy with taxane medicines like paclitaxel (Taxol) and docetaxel (Taxotere). It is also a possible side effect of capecitabine (Xeloda), a medicine used for metastatic breast cancer.

If you have questions about the causes of neuropathy, how to identify symptoms and how to get relief, ask Living Beyond Breast Cancer expert Edith P. Mitchell, MD, FACP, your question by filling out our online form. While we make an effort to answer as many questions as we can, we may not be able to answer all questions that are submitted. We will begin posting Dr. Mitchell's answers to select questions in early September and will continue to post answers on an ongoing basis throughout the month; see our submission form for more details and submission guidelines, and check back for updates.

The topic for the month of August was fear of recurrence.

During initial breast cancer treatment and therapy, it’s common to live "in the moment" because you are so busy actively fighting the disease. But what happens when treatment ends?

Fear of recurrence is one of the biggest challenges some women face in moving on with life. These fears are normal, but they can interfere with your ability to care for yourself. By getting your questions answered about your fears, you can learn how to manage and integrate your breast cancer history into your life.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer expert Sage Bolte, PhD, LCSW, OSW-C answered your questions about coping with feelings and managing fears. Read Dr. Bolte's answers to questions about fear of recurrence.

About Our Experts

Edith P. Mitchell, MD, is clinical professor of medicine and medical oncology and program leader in gastrointestinal oncology at Thomas Jefferson University. She is associate director of diversity programs for the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. Dr. Mitchell is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association, Aerospace Medical Association, Association of Military Surgeons and the Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania. She belongs to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and the Philadelphia Society of Medicine. Dr. Mitchell frequently speaks at LBBC programs and reviews our educational materials.

Sage Bolte, PhD, LCSW, OSW-C, works for Life with Cancer, an Inova Health System nonprofit program in Northern Virginia, where she helped develop a program that addresses the needs of people impacted by metastatic breast cancer. She also provides individual and family counseling, facilitates cancer and partner support groups and offers educational seminars on sexuality and intimacy. Dr. Bolte has presented at local, regional and national conferences on the impact of chronic illness on sexuality, intimacy and sexual function and ways that people affected by cancer and healthcare professionals can address common problems.

Submit your questions about neuropathy and read answers to questions about fear of recurrence.