Weekly Taxol group
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I just had taxol number 3. Had it cancelled last week as my neutrophils were low. Liver enzymes off the wall too. No digestive or taste problems but my main problem is that when I go to walk my legs feel really heavy. This happen to anyone? Do your legs get better afterwards?
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Elizabeth7 - My legs felt like they were made of cement after every Taxol. Usually it hit me on day 2 pots chemo late afternoon and stuck around for a few days. I found walking and Tylenol helped!
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I am confused about this newer categorizing of breast cancer. From Mayo-
"Doctors are increasingly using genetic information about breast cancer cells to categorize breast cancers. These groups help guide decisions about which treatments are best. Breast cancer groups include:
Group 1 (luminal A). This group includes tumors that are ER positive and PR positive, but negative for HER2. Luminal A breast cancers are likely to benefit from hormone therapy and may also benefit from chemotherapy.
Group 2 (luminal
. This type includes tumors that are ER positive, PR negative and HER2 positive. Luminal B breast cancers are likely to benefit from chemotherapy and may benefit from hormone therapy and treatment targeted to HER2.Group 3 (HER2 positive). This type includes tumors that are ER negative and PR negative, but HER2 positive. HER2 breast cancers are likely to benefit from chemotherapy and treatment targeted to HER2.
Group 4 (basal-like). This type, which is also called triple-negative breast cancer, includes tumors that are ER negative, PR negative and HER2 negative. Basal-like breast cancers are likely to benefit from chemotherapy."
I AM TRIPLE POSITIVE, ER 98.80%, ER 77.77% HER2+++, plus Ki-67 15%
So I don't fall in any of these 4 luminal subcategories. Is there a mix category?
BTW my stats above are AFTER my first round with BC in 2007, re diagnosed this year. So 2007 bilateral mastectomy and hyster/ oopher and still thus crazy high grade HER2+ and high % for both ER/PR EVEN WITH NO OVARIES FOR OVER 9 years! Adrenal glands production will be turned off soon on one of the AI's for post menopausal not sure which one yet!
I would like to ask this group which seems to have the least side effects?
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Thanks Bravepoint. After the final chemo how long did it take for your legs to return to normal??
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Elizabeth7 - I'll have to let you know.... They are still a bit achy today in the hips though better than yesterday. It's been 4 days since my last Taxol.
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hi Novbaby hope the side effects clear up for you soon! SSRIs are anti depressants, was thinking of taking them to help with my anxiety during treatment. Not sure whether more pills really is what I want right now though. Ugh! Anxious people shouldn't be allowed to get cancer...
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@tinker-bell They gave me Atavan for anxiety two weeks in a row (doses #2 & 3, I just had #6 this week) but I asked them to stop. It made me feel so out of it and I'd just completely zonk out afterwards. The morning after the second dose, I realized I didn't remember driving home the previous afternoon! Granted, they don't recommend driving oneself home on it, but they figured I'd be there long enough (usually 4+ hours) and I am usually at chemo by myself. In short: it didn't ease anxiety, it just knocked me out. Hopefully something works better for you.
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I am so grateful to find this site & thread as most of the time I feel like I'm navigating this crap all alone. I had A+C first and am now halfway through Taxol (just had #6 of 12) but unfortunately SE seem to increase each week, not ease. Biggest problem is belly pain and swelling after each dose (enough to impede walking) but I had the TRAM procedure so no one seems to know how much is due to chemo and how much might be muscles not healing / nerve pain. Have also had fluid retention; I go up and down 5-8 pounds each week. Blurred vision & tingling fingers are also a problem. I have not yet returned to work because walking & fatigue are a problem, but am talking with my boss next week about taking on some projects from home. Anyone else having severe belly pain with Taxol?
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I have belly pain and bloating and the up and down on weight. I wouldn't call it severe but it burns and hurts in the belly. Also have the blurry vision.
Hugs so sorry we are all here
Daniella
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KB870, for the first time since my second Taxol, I can blow my nose without blood appearing in the tissue so my timing was similar to yours in that regard.
Route67, I had sharp pains and burning in my digestive tract after a few of my Taxol treatments. Luckily, it didn't last long.
I'm very worried that I'm going to lose the nail on my big toe. Sorry to be gross, but it oozed a bit on my sock and it's lifting at the end. For those of you with nail loss, how long did it take for the nail to grow back, assuming it did? Did you wear a bandage so people don't see a nasty wound? I'm diabetic so losing a nail, especially the big nail, would be worrisome. Also, if I ever get back to work, my job is teaching dog obedience classes and there's definitely a risk of a large dog accidentally stepping on my foot. I hate to sound so whiny. I should be very grateful that I had my first mammogram since my cancer diagnosis and nothing suspicious was found, but it feels like I'm never going to return to my active life given the elevated heart rate, shortness of breath, neuropathy in my hands and feet, lymphedema, and now this pesky nail issue. Grrr!
Lyn
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Elizabeth7 - My legs feel normal this morning. I was able to walk my dogs at a brisk pace! day 6 post chemo.
Gail
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hi all - would appreciate any help or suggestions . I have developed severe itching all over my body - I think it's the taxol. I am moisturizing , avoiding hot showers . The oncology nurse suggested Benadryl which I took at night time so I could get down relief and sleep but don't want to take Benadryl during the day - any suggestions as to what has worked for people with the itching ? Would be very grateful for any suggestions
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VLH, and everyone who has mentioned nail finger/toe problems and/or has discussed icing. For Taxol #11 i had a substitute nurse. She seem overwhelmed. I asked her twice for ice for my fingers (I take my own ice packs for my toes) and she forgot. I didn't ask a third time. I ended up with worse discoloration and lifting on 5 fingernails. I lost the nail on my left thumb and the nail on the right thumb is hanging on by a thread. I have bandages over both. There's tissue underneath and I'm pretty sure they will come back. For Taxol #12 (my last, yeah!) I made sure I got the ice. That reversed the problems in 3 digits and the other 2 digits improved! This PROVED to me that icing during treatment truly, truly helps. I also ice everyday at home, which is one reason that I didn't hassle the substitute nurse. But I guess icing during infusion is more important because that's when Taxol is at it's highest concentration. I've read that the half-life is 23+ hours. I will be icing all this week anyway just to be as proactive as I can.
VLH, have you told you MO about the oozing wound? I'd do that right away.
Not be be too jokey, but if you ever start teaching cat obedience, let me know. ;-)
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Tara17 - when I did Taxol I had itchy rashes all over arms, hands, face was really bad, and many other areas. My MO prescribed topicals ointments that helped (cannot remember name - so sorry) and I took allergy meds - Allegra. It helped.
Things cleared up within 2 weeks after I ended Taxol. Sending my best!
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attery - thanks for sharing your info about icing and your experiences with even reversing it! I am a FIRM believer in icing and advocate it often! My sister and I both did it during Taxol and we had absolutely no issues with nails. I have slight neuropathy on my right foot and nowhere else. I pulled my right foot out of the ice more.
I've learned not to tell your MO that you want to ice because of neuropathy - only because of nail issues. They usually go for it and give you the consent.
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thanks Denise for the reply and support - I will try non sedating allergy mess . Thanks !
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I take Claritin daily, and I use sesame oil on my skin. I put it on in the shower helps a lot.
This week's treatment has won. I feel horrible, everything is either coming up or out the other end. I have a headache, my body hurts, blurry vision, yup gonna curl up with my puppy and sleep.
Hope everyone else is feeling ok
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tara17, i take claritin.. it seems like if i dont drink a lot of water, i itch bad.. i am 2 weeks pfc and thought d itching would not come back. I was at work and forgot to drink a lot( i must have drank 10 oz only for d 8 hr period) the itching came back..so i think water helps..
2 weeks PFC, still have bone pain on my back, stomach still the same( bloating and reflux), peripheral neuropathy is better( not a whole lot),still have occasional tingling and numbness on my arms, legs, mastectomy area. Face numbness too. Hair is half to an inch long but not a whole lot, and they r white😱. I sometimes walk like an old woman (stoops) coz my back hurts. Eyes are still bad. Tongue still feel.like its been burnt. All in all, these SE's are milder than the ones I had with AC.
In2 wks, I will have radiation. Any advice?
Hope you all have a mild SE this wk. Soon this too shall passed.
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hi Shelabela I hope you feel better soon *hugs* I am going to ask my onco about Claritin - is it for Taxol pain or Neulasta pain? I haven't been given Neulasta yet as bloods OK. Only on Week 2 Taxol.
Hi Route67 I have had stomach pain as well as shooting pains all over the place - I was feeling sick when I took painkillers too. Oncologist prescribed Omeprazole to cut down acid caused by steroids. That seems to help.
Is Ativan same as Lorezepam? I've been taking that before each chemo. Have been listening to audiobooks during chemo, can't remember a thing afterwards - apologies to Charles Dickens and Neil Gaiman....
Novbaby hope you feel better soon! It must be a relief to be done with chemo! Can't wait
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Thanks Bravepoint! Day 3 post Taxol no. 3 for me. Feel like I will never make the 12. Still stiff and muscles burn after walking but keep going for moderate walks as I do think it helps in the long run. Had a massage and it helped but lying on my port site didn't :-(
Have the blurry vision like most. Use eye drops twice a day. Moisturise with Bio Oil and E45 spray moisturiser for dry skin all over. Rub the bio oil on my baldy head and it helps with the itchy scalp.
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Elizabeth7- I had some blurry vision too but it seemed to come and go. My mouth and nose are dry but my skin isn't too bad.
Can you take Tylenol for the muscle soreness? It helped me.
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Aterry, there isn't a wound at this point... I just noticed a little fluid had oozed onto my sock at the end of the nail. I plan to discuss it with my MO at my first PFC appointment next week. My younger dog can be such a pill at times that training and trialing sometimes rivals herding cats in terms of difficulty. ;-)
Regarding icing, I'd planned to do it & my doctor had no objection; however, she said they had all their patients ice several years ago and didn't see any difference when it came to nails or neuropathy so she stopped recommending it. Would it have helped? I'll never know. I'm glad it worked so well for you though!
What I do know is that I have an appointment for my radiation mapping and I am eager to finally see a light at the end of the treatment tunnel. I found my lump April 30th of last year so cancer will have stolen a full year of my life.
Lyn
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Elizabeth7, do not think that you cant make it.. u can.. take ibuprofen or tylenol for your pain.. thats what i thought b4, that i cant make it but one thing my cancer buddy told me(she had cancer b4 n again this yr so she had chemo twice, 3 surgeries n etc),she said, there is a lot that a body can take. From what she's been through, I believe that so thats what i put on my heAd. If other people can do it,i can do it.. n u can too..
There was a discussion here about red cheeks. I thought it was from d sun. I was told not to be out in the sun without sunscreen, when i did my ca education b4 starting chemo. The nurse said the chemo drug will cause redness when expose to sun without sunscreen or in other words sunburn.That'swhat i notice with mine when expose to d sun..
Hope everybody have a good week..
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@Bravepoint - I'm trying to go easy on any additional drugs as my liver enzyme tests are off the wall! I can endure the muscle soreness/stiffness/burning for the next 9 weeks, its just that I'm worried it won't go away at the end of treatment and I'll be restricted for the rest of my life.
@Novbaby - Thanks for the support! I'll keep going day by day. Just wondering if your red cheeks are from the steroids? I had terrible problems week one with joint pain, terrible small acne spots all over my face and constant flushing but the doctors reduced my steroids considerably and these SEs have gone? I'm lucky I don't have any digestive problems so I'm going off the steroids completely after next week.
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Tinker-bell,
I am not getting neulasta. So I take it for side effects from Taxol
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elizabeth7, i think my red cheeks is from d sun, though Ive seen people on steroids that has red cheeks.. funny how after my last dose of taxol, about 3 days PFC, my lips were red like I put on a lipstick, so i dud not have to put one..it stays that way for about a week..
16 day pfc and still has muscle pain n stomach issues. One thing my mo said about neuropathy is that if it go away after d 5th day or ease up days after taxol treatment(b4 d next dose) then its aomething that wont stay with u after taxol is done, meaning its reversible.. hope that helps.
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I'm sorry to read that so many of you have painful SEs. I finished Taxol last Wednesday and I'm trying to have modest expectations in terms of how soon (or if) SEs will recede. In my case it's finger & toe numbness, a few nail problems, and mental fog that I assume is chemo brain. The post chemo MRI showed good shrinkage so I should feel pretty grateful to the Taxol. I'm scheduled for a lumpectomy on April 17th and I see many familiar names on the April surgery thread.
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Benadryl makes me tired
Be
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