24-Year-Old Brain Cancer Survivor Who Lost His Eyesight Has Vision Restored and Can See Girlfriend For The First Time

With slim chances of success, Cummings went in for urgent surgery. Working for eight hours straight, the surgeons were able to save his life. But just months later, Cummings found himself at risk again. He caught meningitis on his birthday. Then, he developed sepsis twice during his intense chemotherapy treatment.

The 24-year-old had been through so much, but the worst may have been yet to come chemotherapy also took his eyesight. This year, while going through surgeries to restore his vision, he met Samantha Maywood on E-harmony, and the two began dating.

It wasn't always easy to make dating life feel normal. But they found ways to work around Cummings's limitations. One time, they even went to the movies to see Fast and Furious 9. "I walked in, and it was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything," Cummings told BristolLive. "I didn't really want to see it I took her to say thanks for helping me."

After two cataract surgeries and laser eye treatment, Cummings could finally see the person that had meant so much to him through his health struggles. "That was the best feeling I ever had, to be honest," he said.

Cummings still has to undergo tests and rehabilitation before he will be fully recovered, but the simple joy of being able to see his girlfriend and his family again has given him hope for the future.

Understanding Common Chemotherapy Side Effects

Chemotherapy treatments affect everyone differently, so there's no real definite side effects you can count on. Blindness is not a common side effect of chemotherapy, although it can happen, and chemotherapy can cause other less-severe vision problems.

Below are some of the more common side effects that can affect patients during and after chemo treatments. And while it's important to note that we've come a long with the management of these side effects, they can still have a great impact on people throughout their cancer journeys.

Chemotherapy side effects like nausea, hair loss, and nerve damage can be frightening to think about, but doctors have treatment options that can give you hope.

Nausea

"One of the things that patients worry most about is nausea with chemotherapy," Dr. Michael Ulm, gynecologic oncologist at West Cancer Center, said in a previous interview with SurvivorNet. "Everybody remembers what their parents went through or what their aunts and uncles went through probably 15 or 20 years ago."

Although people can still anticipate nausea, Dr. Ulm says your nausea shouldn't be as bad as you're imagining with today's arsenal of effective treatments to combat the side effect with medications you can even take at home.

"I tell my patients, with modern medicine and modern antiemetics that you should never have severe nausea and you should never throw up," Dr. Ulm said.

Hair Loss or Thinning

Many chemotherapies can cause hair loss or thinning. Hair loss typically begins about three to four weeks after a woman begins chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment. Woman can expect regrowth around four to six weeks after they complete treatment, but some patients may experience some changes to hair color and texture when it begins growing back.

The hair loss associated with chemo is temporary, but this can be an incredibly distressing side effect for some. It's important to speak with your doctor about any personal issues that may be caused by treatment side effects including the loss or thinning of your hair. To help patients cope with hair loss, a doctor or nurse may be able to recommend a local wig-maker or other resources that can help slow down the process.

Heart Problems

Cardiotoxicity, or problems in the heart and vascular (circulation) system, can be a side effect of chemotherapy. Although uncommon, cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death among breast cancer survivors behind only secondary malignancies due, in part, to the damage some cancer therapies can cause to the heart.

Certain chemotherapy treatments are linked to higher risk of heart problems.

"From chemotherapy, high doses of anthracyclines, in particular, have been the prototype of cancer therapies that lead to cardiotoxicity," Dr. Emanuel Finet, a transplant cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.

Cancer patients at a high risk for heart problems can be older, younger with more aggressive chemotherapy, obese, smokers or dealing with pre-existing cardiovascular disease.

Blood-forming Cell Damage

Chemotherapy drugs can damage all three types of blood-forming cells: red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells. This is turn can lead to various issues like anemia (low red blood cell count), thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet account) or neutropenia (low number of a type of white blood cell called neutrophil).

"One of the things that's changed in the coronavirus days is that now we're giving everybody this drug called Neupogen or Neulasta, and it helps boost your white [blood cell] count," Dr. Ulm said as a way to help your body fight infections.

Fatigue

Fatigue is another possible symptom that has the potential to worsen as chemo cycles add up. But rest breaks, frequent exercise, and getting plenty of sleep at night can also help fight fatigue.

In an earlier interview, Dr. Zachary Reese, a Medical Oncologist at Intermountain Healthcare, spoke with SurvivorNet about what chemotherapy-related fatigue is like.

"What I typically tell patients is that [chemotherapy] is a bit of a roller coaster ride," he said. "You're going to feel tired about a week into treatment, and that's when you'll hit bottom. And then you'll start to come back up again just in time to do it all over… You'll feel a little more tired the second time around than you did the first, and it will last a day longer."

Nerve Damage

Nerve damage, or neuropathy, can leave you with symptoms like 'pins-and-needles,' pain, burning, numbness, weakness or trouble detecting heat and cold.

These symptoms might worsen as your chemo treatments progress, but there are ways to combat them. Steroids, numbing patches or cream, antidepressant medicine, anti-seizure medication physical therapy, relaxation techniques, acupuncture or dosage adjustments may help with these symptoms. And while the symptoms of nerve damage might go away once you finish treatment, there can be lasting effects that require ongoing treatments.

Contributing: SurvivorNet staff

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