Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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Kimber, congratulations on getting your first Taxol treatment behind you.
I agree with Waiting on the genetic testing, even if there aren't any females, there may be males who could benefit. Now, that is easy for me to say because I am not in your shoes. Whatever you decide though, is the best decision for you.
I had my 9th treatment on Thanksgiving Day -- what a blessing, no wait times! Three more to go!!!!
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Hi!! I recently began chemo after 4 months of hormone therapy. I will have my 3rd Taxol treatment (weekly) on Tuesday and am starting to notice the ache and fatigue. Any insight as to what I can expect going forward?
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Hello Ladies!
Well my last Taxol was 10/2/12 and I wanted to check in. I didn't have a hard time with AC nor Taxol. The taxol did allow my hair to start growing and that continues today. My eyelashes are still there. My eyebrows were present during taxol but practically gone now
Toe and fingernails still black but growing in normal color never lifted or came off. Never had pain in hands or feet during treatment and that still true today. Hot flashes are way better since I started Effexor. I resisted at first but was having 10 or more intense flashes a day night counting the ones at night. Now I have maybe 2 a day and no were near the intensity it was before.
Congratulations to everyone who has joined me and waiting on at the finish line for everyone else. I know it feels like it takes forever but it will be over soon
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Congrats mgdsmcg! I finished on October 18th!
I too lost my eyebrows and eyelashes but my hair on my head began and continues to grow.
My nails darkened but never became loose, but I did lice them during infusion almost every week. I got neuropathy in my feet, it began in my left toes nod is the worse there. I pray it heals completely.
I began radiation on November 8...there is a light at the end of the tunnel....I can see it
You all will get there too
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I had one treatment of TCH and ended up in the hospital. I think my MO is going to do taxol and herceptin for 12 months. Right now I am so petrified of chemo, I can't believe it. I was so sick, couldn't stop throwing up, stomach pains, aches, now I'm bald. Is the taxol at least a little better to handle than taxotere and carboplatin. Man, was I sick.
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Pbrain- Im so sorry to hear you had such a hard time your chemo. I didnt have that type but cantell you Taxol is much easier, i hope anyway. How can you not be more scared than you were before this started. You had a reaction like in the old days. May i ask what type of anti nausea medicine you were taking at the time? My MO told me i should experience any nausea or vomiting even with AC and i didnt.
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just started taxol Wednesday before thanksgiving. hope i can stay on it a long time. seem to be whipping through these treatments. i haven't read all the threads, only the first 2 pages. have to go back and read more. good luck and prayers to all
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Hi- Did you have the treatment of 12 weeks of Taxol/Herceptin and then Herceptin every 3 weeks for a year? That is what is being perscribed for me- I start 12/13. Would you mind sharing your expereince with side effects? I was told this was "easy chemo" and I should be able to work through it. Also- how was your hair loss?
Thanks for sharing
Kerry
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Well, they gave me zofran, but the first day after chemo, I felt ok (just super wired from the steroids) so I didn't take it until the second day. After that, it didn't seem to help much. They gave me something else (I thought it was phenergan, but it wasn't, some carbamazipine or something). That didn't help much either. After that, I was throwing up the pills, so it became useless... :-( I go back this Friday and I'm going to tell them they have to help me this time. That was just way too gross. I've lost a boat load of weight...
Thanks for listening everyone. This chemo stuff kicks butt!
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Pbrain, Sorry to hear your chemo experience was so bad! I did 4AC and 12 taxol (I have one more left tomorrow!) I never had a problem with nausea but I listened to the nurses and my MO and stayed ahead of it. They said you should never throw up-if you do your not being managed properly. Even if you feel OK that first day take it when the tell you. Once it starts it is hard to control. I don't take much with the taxol-whatever they make me swallow while there (zofran, decadron, benadryl and pepcid) then take phenergren at night for 2 nights and zorfan during the day the day after the taxol. I have never felt sick. It will get better. I have been able to keep running (4 days a week during the taxol) throughout this whole thing. It's hard and more like jogging now but it helps me mentally to be able to get up and do something I always have done.
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Has anyone missed a dose of Taxol weekly? If so, what happened. I was hospitalized for a week due to an infection and missed Dose #11 and now looks like I may miss Dose #12. I meet with oncologist today, but very nervous about missing ANY chemo to kill this thing.
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Sugar land, I haven't missed any doses, but before I started I asked my MO what would happen if my counts were too low one week. he said I could just skip that dose altogether and not even make it up. So obviously he wasn't concerned about missing one dose. Two of them - I don't know.
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Sugarland, I have an oncology nurse at my "navigator" through this whole process. She's been treating breast cancer patients for 23 years. I asked her this Monday what would happen if I went home to Philly for Christmas and had to miss a dose. She said "not a thing wrong with that at all. We'll just take up where we left off" :-) Feel better!!!
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Finished A/C and have first Taxol next Wed. I had Emend with the A/C and never had any nausea. I have no more appointments before starting 12 Taxol, and no one said anything about taking anything before although I have two other kinds of nausea meds on hand prescribed before A/C. Do you take anything before first Taxol. They haven't mentioned it and I will be out of town until day before.
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Cindi, I get an anti-nausea med in my pre-meds. I have two prescriptions at home for nausea but have never felt any nausea at all so haven't taken any of the meds. I think some people take the steroids in pill form but I get mine in the pre-meds. Presumably if you didn't get any instructions or prescriptions you'll get everything in your pre-meds too.
Be prepared for possible neuropathy. From all my reading on this site I knew glutamine and B-6 were commonly used to prevent it. I asked the nursing staff and they gave me a write up on glutamine plus some samples and advice on how much glutamine and B-6 to take. I didn't start taking them until I had some symptoms, which were mild.0 -
I missed 2 Taxol treatments, one for low counts arond #4 and then around #9 for mouth sores. We made them up at the end so I was done 2 weeks later than planned. I still got my Herceptin on those treatment dates thou.
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I started my taxol the Tuesday before thanksgiving. The bone pain was excruciating for me. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, I was up and moving around the day after my mastectomy. Done with pain meds by day 3. But taxol is really getting me. 3 more to go and I'm done!
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Hello All, Hope all is well with you. If my wbc is back to normal, I will be starting my first taxol treatment next Tuesday. I had a very bad time with the A/C, especially the last treatment. I feel like I have lost about 50% of my strength. I go out and do what I have to do, but tire really quickly. I can't run up a flight of stairs without heart pounding and just not feeling strong anymore. Anyone experiencing these SE's? Will it ease up or stop even though starting the taxol/herceptin?
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Has anyone had more than 18 weekly Taxol w/ Avastin treatments? My partner is estrogen+ and inherited the cancer from both grandmothers. She was diagnosed twelve years ago. The cancer spread to bones (Zometa monthly) and now to the peritoneum.
We are in Austria, my partner has her last treatment next Thursday and the doctor says she should go through 18 more treatments. Everyone says he was heartless to simply walk into the clinic last week, say she tolerated everything so well (she did not!), and that she should start another round. We are devastated by the thought of going through all of this again, especially since every week gets worse.
Even if the first round didn't work, it would have been better to tell her that she did a good job, take a break over the holidays and meet up to talk in January, am I right?? It took her last ounce of will power to make it to these treatments and now she is in a deep depression.
If anyone has gone through Taxol for mets (especially peritoneal) and then started with another protocol, please respond. Our situation is not optimal. Her doctor is not an oncologist, he's a surgeon. We don't have an oncologist in our hospital. A Tumor Board in Innsbruck comes up with the treatment plans for patients here. Her doctor visited her exactly twice in the day clinic over the past six months. Nobody tells us anything, so we aren't very confident that she is getting the best treatment---especially now, when they say she should go through it all again.
I'm sorry to rant, but I'm angry at the doctor and really devastated by this news. I need other perspectives from those of you facing these same kinds of challenges. I've read about metronomic chemo, lower doses that the patient can handle just to control the mets. Has anyone pursued this approach?
She told the doctor she will not go through another six months but will continue to go for the monthly Zometa infusion (she has a port) and they can add Avastin only (we know the FDA does not even recommend this drug for BC any more). She will go back on Arimidex, too. Are there other medications that have given you better results? We need some encouragement right now.
Thanks for listening to me; just to write this all down helps a lot.
Ginna
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Not being familiar with the medical rules and regs of your country--but can you go someplace-ANYPLACE-for a second opinion and to meet with an oncologist? Take copies of all the records-current and previous. To see a physician twice in a six-month period is, in my opinion, malpractice. I see my medical oncologist at least every other week if not weekly and my surgeon (and do not even have surgery until the 12th) at least monthly. And, I met with the radiation oncologist in August when I was still having AC-and radiation was months away.
Please let us know. Again, my recommendation---seek another opinion elsewhere.
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Cindy,
Will you be taking emend with the taxol treatments?
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Waiting.
Came back from the 4th A/C MUCH slower than the other times. Almost three weeks and I can barely walk a block. I sit a lot. I start Taxol on Wed. Hoping for better. Hugs and no SE
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Waiting, my oncologist only gave me prescriptions for 4 Emends to start. There were two other prescriptions which I filled in the beginning--one for a pill every 8 hours for nausea, and the other for every 6 hours (but she said that one would put me to sleep). I took the sleep one twice after the first A/C I was so afraid of the potential nausea--which I never had any of. I was told at the last A/C that one of the five bags had an anti nausea drug also.
I'm guessing because it didn't come up, that anti nausea will come with the Taxol, and that they think the pills I already have will cover any additional need. I see the oncologist the day after the first Taxoi (I guess to check blood and see effects.)
My major SE with all of this has been the fatigue. Difficulty breathing after ANY exertion, and all limbs feel as if they have weights attached.
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Hi Susan,
Thanks for posting. Yes, I want us to meet with an oncologist. It's difficult to "go around" the surgeon but that is the next step. I'll post any news.
Ginna
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Tomorrow is treatment # 4 of Taxol and my monthly Zometa trestment. I am still working fulltime (some in the office and some from home) and have limited side effects. My hair started to itch and hurt so we shaved it last week before it got too clumpy. Some tingling in my legs and feet but nothing too bad. I get tired and achy on day # 3 after treatment but that's it so far. No naseua or other sickness. For me, this is much easier than radiation was.
Thank you for sharing your stories and comments. It helps to know that others are in the same situation.
Prayers and hope to all!!0 -
3rd treatment this Wednesday. so far so good. wig and hats are waiting for me
the worst i get is indigestion. other than that, I'm hanging in theregood luck and God bless and hugs to all
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Is anyone doing taxol with herceptin? I have done two treatments, #3 will be next Tuesday. Not feeling too bad really. No SE's to speak of, the same day of the infusion very tired, but that's from the benadryl. Next day I am fine. Is anyone on taxol seeing their hair growing in? I can't wait for mine, no sign if it yet. Hope everyone feeling well, no SE's.
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Waiting - I did taxol and Herceptin - finished my 12th and final treatment last Friday. I guess I pretty much sailed through it, with the main SE being the fine line between constipation and diarrhea. Got more tired as the weeks went on, but continued to work throughout. Kept neuropathy at bay with L glutamine and B6. I used cold caps and kept my hair, so I can't give you any input on hair regrowth. I had an echocardiogram Monday to check heart function, which turned out fine - yay! I have my first Herceptin-only treatment tomorrow!
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Hi- Today I start Taxol/Herceptin for 12 weeks then Herceptin for 3 weeks for the remainder of the year. Did not have tho do the AC or any other before hand. Hoping for minimal SE- we shall see!
Kerry
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Waiting, I'm doing taxol and herceptin and have had 2 treatments so far. I go back tomorrow for the third. I have chemo brain, and am tired and have sores on the heels of my feet, but that's about it so far. Oh, and of course the big D all the time, unstoppable by immodium.
It's odd that you mention hair growing back because I can swear mine is. It's too early to tell though. I only lost all of it on Thanksgiving which was two weeks out from one round of TCH, which I didn't tolerate well at all. I'll keep you posted if my hair does start to grow back. Sure feels like it is.
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