Weekly Taxol group
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kmk40, I did weekly taxol/herceptin and worked throughout, except on infusion days. I work as a paralegal and luckily have a very flexible schedule, so I was able to take off a few extra hours here and here when I needed to stick close to the bathroom. No kids at home, though, so when I was home I could just relax. Everyone reacts differently, but I was glad to have the distraction of work
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Just had Taxol #2 2 days ago.I am doing 12 Taxol + 4AC. So far I don't have too much side effects yet. But I do have some random shooting pain on my tumor sometimes.
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Thanks PatinMN. Did you have a lot of hair loss? My doctor said there was a low chance, given my age (not sure why), but everyone on here seems to lose their hair with Taxol. I'm just trying to emotionally prepare myself.
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Kmk, I used cold caps to save my hair, and essentially lost no hair at all (except from other parts of my body...). I do think hair loss on weekly taxol is less dramatic than with taxotere or AC - certainly more gradual and maybe not complete. I do wish there was more information - I searched in vain back in 2012 when I was treated
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kmk40. I just finished 12 weeks of weekly Taxol and Herceptin. That was my initial treatment. I was told I would have "some" hair loss and lost almost 100% of my head hair. It did not come out in big clumps, but rather handfuls of strands. It took about 3 weeks. Not sure how age matters, but I am 60.
God luck.
M
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I'm closely watching the hair conversation. I wonder if anyone is having my experience. I had 4 rounds of AC and did not lose all of my hair. I have about 1/4th of it left. Enough to comb but not enough to go without a wig. After AC, I started weekly Taxol (4th round was today). After the third Taxol infusion I noticed there was more hair than normal in the comb. It's not coming out in clumps like it did on Ac, but definitely shedding. I'm getting varying stories from the MO and different nurses. Some say it will all completely fall out on Taxol, some say the shedding is still from the AC in my body (even though the last round was on Oct. 21) and that the Taxol affects different cells than AC and hair loss shouldn't occur, some say I will lose some hair for awhile longer and it will stop. I've also heard from many nurses and ladies on these boards that hair starts growing back on Taxol. That is one thing I'm not noticing. And I apologize if I have already posted something about this on this board. I have chemo brain off and on and it's definitely happening tonight. Thanks everyone!
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seq24, I was not on AC, just Taxol and Herceptin. As I wrote above, I lost nearly all my hair on just Taxol (and Herceptin.) It did not start to grow back while I was on taxol. Perhaps the situation is different as one goes from AC to taxol. I developed folliculitis after about 50% of my hair loss and was advised not to shave any remaining hair. Honestly, the 50% loss looked worse than the nearly total loss. t has been 2 weeks since I completed the Taxol and there is no new growth yet.
Good luck to you.
M
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Hi all! My hair started thinning really bad around #6.Around #8 it stopped thinning and now I have new "baby hair" growing around the hairline. I've had it cut really short twice, thinking I was going to go bald-but still new hair coming in. It's about half as thick as normal, but now if I run my fingers through it only a couple of hairs in my hand instead of about 20. I just had number 12 and still the same. Growing tiny new hair and not losing much-hope that helps. I'm wondering if the b complex vitamins that I take are helping???
Be kind to yourselves! 💚0 -
Seq24 -
I really haven't put anything on my nails other than OPI Nail Envy, which I always use. I skated thru the first half of Taxol - midway thru fatigue builds and progressively worsens. I have completed nine and the pain has become unbearable - it usually starts on day 3 and lasts three days. I have recently started narcotics on the bad days - I tell myself there are only three treatments left and try not to beat myself up over using narcotics (I didn't use them when I had my bilateral mastectomy). Everyone is different. The MO says it's neuropathy...I say it's simply bone pain, no muscle or joint issues to speak of. The fatigue is an issue but I find the pain to be much worse.
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I'm a hairy person and lost most of my head hair on AC but kept arm, leg, brows, eyelashes, nose (really?) and pubic hair. Taxol took care of that after a few infusions. I have completed nine Taxol treatments and there isn't a hair on my body.
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Just found this thread and had a question. Have any of you experienced a really bad body odor from Taxol? It's not an arm pit thing it's like a whole body thing. It's not constant but when it comes it is like I got sprayed by a skunk. My urine smells the same way. I know it's not just me because my husband and others smell it too.
What is the normal regimen for weekly Taxol? My Mo basically said I will be on it as long as I can tolerate it. I am also getting A/C except for this last round because my white count went to 2.3. Also does anyone have swelling of the ankles?
Sorry for so many questions. I did CMF four years ago without any bad side effects.
Thanks, Diana
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Hi everyone
I am doing 12 Taxol only treatments I have completed 8 so far
Hair started to shed around treatment 3&4. Was coming out by the handful with treatment 5&6
It stopped falling out between treatment 6&7 - It is quite thin and patchy but I still have a fair amount of hair left but it is really dry and damaged I used coconut oil a few times and it really helped, most body hair is gone but my eyelashes and eyebrows are still intact. I cannot say I have noticed any new growth on my head but since there is still a fair amount of very short hair there I cannot really tell if new growth is there or not.
Nails - other than cut them short I have not done anything and I have had no nail issues this far other than they are dry and brittle.
Hope this helps, the side effects seem to hit everyone a little different
Char
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On weekly Taxol now, today I start having some discomfort at liver area. Should I be concerned about it? Thanks!
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Hi all
Went to do Chemo last Friday...I told the chemo nurse that my hands and fingers hurt when I bend my hand..and my nails are sore..half of my nail is black...my hands look like death..lol...the chemo nurse said she had to talk to my onc before they did my chemo b/c of that...and my onc said to cancel chemo for that day..he wanted to see me first.......but imma rewind a little...last Wednesday..tmi sorry....I went to pee that morning and mid stream it stopped all of a sudden..then resumed after a big blood clot passed through..that scared the ish out of me...I hurried and called my urologist and left a msg with the nurse..and I called my nurse navigator afterwards and told her what happened...she told me that the urologist would be giving me a call right back b/c her and my onc. were going to call them also....my urologist called me back as they said he would..i told him what happened and he scheduled me for a cystoscopy this past Saturday....no chemo on Friday..Cystoscopy on Sat...my urologist said that my kidneys were Inflamed...and that my onc needs to change my chemo or lower the dose and I need to drink more water...Omg....I drink water all day long!....so my onc and I will have a long discussion this Friday when I see him about what to do going forward...but I ain't gonna lie..i was happy my chemo was canceled Friday..lol
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I just finished round 9 of taxol. My final round. So now a few weeks of break, except for the herceptin and then surgery.
I have been lucky not experiencing any terrible side effects as of now. I have had some tingling in my feet and hands but very little, nothing to worry about, runny nose with occasional nosebleed, nothing major, some rashes on my chest, but nothing huge, a few blisters and an infection of my navel..(?) but that is about it. The biggest problem I think is my temper that seems to be up and down, mood swings...I have not been exercising much which worries me and have had some pain in my joints, feel stiff, shortness of breath but hope to start an exercising regim after surgery and during radiation if possible. Going for my last mammogram before surgery tomorrow, the size of the tumor has remained the same so far unfortunately. Oh I might have to ad that I have had pretty bad diarrhea the hole time.
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TSwink,
Are you by any chance bring treated at SCOA? From you notation of Chapin, I am not far from you.
Best wishes for easy treatments,
M
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hello ladies, I have blisters on my fingers and palm after my #2 Taxol. Is there anything that can help to speed up the healing? They are getting big and painful now and have been there for 8 days. From tiny blistets to huge red looking ones.
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Finished Taxol #5 yesterday....my MO lowered the dose on it b/c of the neuropathy in my fingers..yay!! We also talked about my urinary problems....he said he spoke with my urologist about it and they both agree that the Cytoxan portion of the A/C I was previously on put a hurting on my kidneys....but he says he wasn't giving me a large dose of the Cytoxan and that I have a sensitive body..i just laughed and thought..you are pumping poison in me of course my body is sensitive..lol....fingers aren't hurting after my last treatment which is great...I have 7 more to go.
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finished my taxol#4 today and realised that the Fatigue is cumulative since 6 days post taxol#3. Can't help but hit the bed early for the last few days.
Also noticed my hair is growing out since Taxol #1 but they are colourless. At Taxol #3, started to see some black hair. Will they drop again?
Blisters on my fingers still there since Taxol #2. Going to see a dermatologist tomorrow.
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Oasis--I just finished Taxol #5 last week. I have noticed the same thing with my hair. It has started growing back. It is about 1/16" long and also has no color. My hair color is dark so I was surprised to find all this light/white colored hair coming in. I'll take what I can get though. I can always color it. I did talk to a nurse a couple weeks ago about hair and she did say that for some people it does start growing back but she did not mention anything about it falling out again. She said that Taxol affects different cells than other chemo meds so hopefully that means when hair is back, it is back to stay. I have heard of that happening with brows and lashes growing back then falling out again on Taxol.
I'm sorry you are experiencing the fatigue and blisters. I hope your doctor can get this corrected. I have been lucky enough not to have any effects so far from Taxol. Friday will be my 6th treatment, so half way done!!
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seq24 - really hope that the hair won't fall out again. Congrats on winning half the race!
I have 8 more to go and counting down.
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I am so amazed to read that some have hair growth with Taxol. I started with 12 weeks of Taxol/Herceptin and lost nearly all my hair fairly early on and no regrowth during the 12 weeks. I still have some eyelashes and some very thin brows. I used Latisse daily on the lashes and brows. I had used it on my eyelashes for years with good results so I figured I'd give it a try during Chemo. My worst fatigue came towards the end, week 10 or so.
My last treatment was Mid November so I am (Im)patiently waiting on hair growth.
good luck to all
M
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MLMSC--I have read and also told by the nurses that if you have other chemo meds before Taxol (I had 4 rounds of AC) that cause hair loss and then start Taxol the hair will sometimes grow back as the Taxol affects different cells than the AC or other chemo meds. But, if you have Taxol only, that in itself will cause hair loss and it usually does not start growing back until it is finished. I also know that Herceptin can sometimes slow or delay hair growth. I know someone that experienced just that.
Can I ask how severe your fatigue was? I have continued to work through all of this (have only missed 2 days and that was after surgery) and the fatigue on AC was pretty tough to deal with. I'm hoping it's not that bad on Taxol but I am worried.
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a friend told me her MO said chemo patients cannot eat pomegranate. Is it true?
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I hope everyone is doing well. I finished with my Taxol #4 on Monday and have noticed that I have increasing pain in my left leg. I know one of the side effects of it is bone and muscle pain and I'm assuming that's what it's from. I brought it up to my MO and she agreed it's prob from taxol and seems to be a sciatica type pain. I've had issues with my lower back after an injury over a year ago on and off and did have some pain in my left leg at that time. But now it's more severe. Not enough for me to take anything for it since I think I'm getting enough crap in my system from the chemo but boy is it bothersome. Especially at night. The PA who works with my MO said people tend to have issues wherever they had issues before when they are treated with taxol and it does progress with the treatments. Anyone else have a similar experience? Thank you in advance and God bless everyone fighting the good fight!
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I hear that the things that are normally good for us to eat may cause harm during chemo. The one thing I've heard that could be the reason for the pomegranate is because of the antioxidant. I eat a pretty healthy diet and once I started reading all this stuff, no antioxidants like berries, no turmeric, no other herbs, no probiotics, I started to think "what in the world do I need to do, eat junk?!" So, before I drove myself nuts, I asked a few dietitians, asked my drs and made the choice to eat the same way I was eating before. I just increased my protien intake with supplements on the days I didn't get enough. Not sure if this as helpful but I figured I would put my two cents in.
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Blessed-I was told to get off a few supplements & vitamins...but not Turneric. I def need that for my intestinal woes, & Gastro doc agreed I needed to stay on during chemo.
I had Taxol #4 with Herceptin & Perjeta #2 today. Thankfully no riggers this time. Also had them cut back the benedryl drip dose so I wasn't so groggy. Feeling good so far, just some minor tummy icks & random/weird hot flashes. They almost didn't do the Herceptin/Perjeta because my Troponin level had gone UP to .10! It was.07 when I wound up in hospital a couple of weeks ago. But I felt fine today-weird. NP called my cardio doc to confer (who I had already met with after troponin hospital visit). She confirmed that unless the troponin gets to .20 she's not too worried because my heart passed all the other cardio tests when in hospital last. So NP allowed infusion. I do have my 3 month echocardiogram on 12/21, so I'm sure that will be key in determining future steps.
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kd,
Def. go with the advice of your dr and I would stay on the turmeric too if it helped me with my stomach. I don't neccessarily see any difference on or off but I know it is a good anti inflammatory and with getting a bit older, I like to try to prevent joint pain and ect. So, that's why it was much easier for me to stop. It's interesting how opinions of clinicians vary so much just in this country. At the end of the day, it's our bodies and we need to do whats best for us. I'm glad you are doing well and hope and pray the echo is normal on 12/21!
May
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Did anyone have rib pain from weekly Taxol? I started having pain at the rib underneath my cancer breast since #4, I am a little worried it is met.
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stephilosph.....
Sorry you are having those issues, I did not experience that. As always, if you are concerned, call the doctor
Best wishes.
M
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