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Pioneering cooling boots and mittens to help stop painful chemo side-effect

Brian Conroy is used to the cold nipping at his fingers and toes after a lifetime in construction work and fishing in all weathers at weekends. But his hands and feet are now being deliberately cooled in a clinical trial - the first of its kind in the NHS - looking at reducing one of the most debilitating side-effects of chemotherapy: peripheral neuropathy.

This type of nerve damage can cause constant pain, as well as a tingling sensation, weakness or numbness, in the fingers and toes.

While for some the side-effect is short term, in many others it lasts for months, years or becomes permanent.