Weekly Taxol group
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you are looking great shelabela! Such beautiful eyes!
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thank you tara17!
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I just finished 8th taxol and herceptin. As I was discussing my very swollen hands, MO said, "do you want to quit." She took me by surprise. She said she wouldn't have said that at 2 but did at 8. This week is no treatment and I am struggling with what to do. DH wants me to do anything to kill this thing but says he will respect my decision and doesn't want to go to my appointment next week. In addition to the neuropathy, on hands and feet (hands the worse), I have gotten shortness of breathe and MO moved up my echo and ordered a chest Xray. I will be 71 in May and suspect that they number of treatments is somewhat related to that. I was scheduled for 12. What about the rest of you? I can't find any literature about number of session when I google. Thanks.
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Thanks KB. Yes. I will go to Herceptin only when I finish with the Taxol. At this point, it's just the question of how many Taxol is "finished." We originally thought we heard the MO say 6, then the PA said I was "penciled in" for 9, and then it was to be 12. I think of myself as a pretty "tough lady" but I'm not doing well with the neuropathy.
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taco1946 --are you taking any med for the neuropathy such as neurotin or cymbal ta? That can help you
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1200MG of Gabapentin. I was given 600 by MO but when my neurologist (I had an intracelebral bled 10 years ago) saw my hands, he doubled it. He is on the side of my quitting the taxol.
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I am done! I finished all 12 taxol. I have no symptoms and felt pretty good until 9 then I had a little tinkling in my fingers and toes. It came and went throughout. The tips of my nails turned a light brown but that was all. On my last appt Wednesday my OC said I could cancel 12 if I thought the neuropothy was to much. It was my last one and I just did not want to cancel. It is weird but I wanted to finish. It was a very emotional day. I was happy to be done and finish but still found my self teary all day. The nurses all sing a song give a bottle of sparkling cider then told me to ring the bell loud no whipy rings they said. All my children came by, my little chemo spot was filled to the brime, it was so nice.
I get a few weeks off, get my port removed then start on radation next. Best of luck to all ladies still going through it and all you have moved on.
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well done Marigoldgirl you must be so happy to have finished!
Taco1946 at one point they told me that the initial dose they give you each time quite high and if it's lowered a bit for later doses you will still have effective treatment. I've already got tingles on round 3 and I think I will ask for a lower dose at some point.
Surely some is better than none? Much sympathy for your poor hands!
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taco1946, how much taxol are u getting. I always think that I am going to do everything to kill the cancer cells. Though I know its hard when u r going thru the chemo especially d shortness of breath. My neuropathy is all over but it comes and goes so it did not really bother me that much. I pray that whatever decision you reach, it is the most beneficial for you.
I am 22 weeks PFC and still have slight neuropathy on my toes and fingers. All over the body comes and goes. Bone pain and muscle pain stilll lingers but not so bad.. Sometimes I forgot what I have been through. We all can get through this.
Congrats Marigold..
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Congrats, marigold! I'm 2 weeks PFC and know just how you feel.
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congrats marigoldgirl!
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Novbaby - Taxol - Dilute in 250 mL NS. Infuse over 60 minutes. I'm not certain this answers your question but it was what was in my chart. MO said would cut it down by 10% if I continued. This is day 7 and no let up in symptoms. Hands, especially, are very tender and raw. I get tomorrow off, thank goodness. But I'm uncomfortable enough that I am second guessing myself about doing the 12 weeks. Having to take narcotic pain pill at night to sleep. Thanks for any input you may have.
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taco1946, i meant d disage for taxol. Mine has d dosage in the IV bag. At least your MO will cut d dosage by 10 percent.. Sorry for your pain..Hope you feel better.
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Taco - I've been in hospital for the last few days with another Taxol side effect so my doctor has decided to stop it. I have had only 4 taxols and 2 of those had been cut by 20%. I have some neuropathy but my liver enzymes tests are way off and I've other issues too. So taxol and me don't work well together. The doctor decided not to put me on any other chemo and to just leave me on the herceptin. We're all different though and it depends on your own particular set of circumstances. I've heard of lots of people who stopped at 9.
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today was taxol 8 of 12. It had been pretty mild for me although this past week my body felt more bruised when touched. The worst has been a bunch of bloody noses, and constant traces of blood when i blow my nose. My hemoglobin was at a 20 this week, which is high for me. I'm usually running closer to an 8.
The absolute worst thing I've had to deal with with taxol is the past two weeks on the day of treatment I've had terrible insomnia. Not sleeping until 330 or 4am and then the baby is up at 6. The nurse said probably the steroids I'm getting but I'm hoping it doesn't happen today. I've been avoiding pain meds because the pain has been manageable and I'm trying to avoid constipation, but maybe a Tylenol #3 will help me sleep
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RRusso23 --perhaps try asking for a sleeping pill for the insomnia ? I felt terrible after I couldn't sleep and asked for a sleeping pill--it made a huge difference, or maybe consider a Tylenol PM --but that may be too much Benadryl in one day since you will be getting the Benadryl before the taxol. Hope you feel better and do Better, especially with a baby to take care of!
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Goid morning ladies - I popin and out in here and went to congratulate all that have finished!
I am now finished with #6 Taxol herceptin. I started having a rash first on back now spreading to chest and arms. Dr.calls it chemo rash. Did any of you get this?
Fatigue and steroid sleepless nights are my worst symptoms. Some Neuropathy and little electric shocks in feet, ties, hands and random other areas of body. Sometimes swallowing is hard and I have to down lots of water cause the food feels stuck in thirst and hurts my chest.
Oh the fun times with chemo
Daniella
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danix5 ,
I have a constant rash. Even on my face. But on my face it looks like pimples. Sucks, I look like a teen!
I also have a constant sore throat. Won't go away. My MO said it's the chemo. I just had Taxol #8. 4 more Taxol then I move to AC.
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danix5- I'm 2 weeks PFC. I never had a rash just redness especially in my face. I do have the electric shocks you described. They started at about treatment #8 and still seem to come and go. My tongue is still a bit numb at the end but improving I'd say. Still not much sense of taste.
You're half way through so stay strong and hang in there!
Gail
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I was supposed to start chemo 3/30, but I've developed an infection in my reconstructed side so it's been put off for now. Definitely won't be starting this coming week, but I'll know more after I see the PS on Friday. I've been following along because weekly treatment is new to me. I was really hoping to get a few weekly treatments under my belt before my leave from work ends and I have to go back on 4/17. I'd like to know how I'll reactand get an idea how much time each week I might need off so I can see if short term disability would grant me some time to do treatments and I wouldn't have to take time without pay for those days.
I never thought I'd be back posting after so many years, but I'm thankful that everything is here to come back to.
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cdv4251992 -wishing you well and hope that your infection gets resolved soon so that you are on your way. Depending on how demanding or not your job is, if you are very proactive about managing your symptoms, you can well have the goal of working instead of taking time without pay. Shoudl look into FMLA . Must be surreal to be positing after many years, but since then there are all these antiHER 2 drugs which were not around in 2003- herceptin will be a life saver for all of us her 2 women. Wishing you all the best!
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At what point did gals start losing hair on Taxol?
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One major affect from A-C earlier was thick layers of skin peeling from hands and feet, oncologist seemed a little puzzled over that one. lol I always wanted to be different! Now ready to get # 8 of the taxane drug (Abraxane}anybody else taking that?????? its the same basic drug like Taxol only delivered differently and thank goodness no STEROIDS for premeds. Question tho, anyone have fluid oozing out under finger/toenails that lifted?
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I started chemo in January and completed 4 rounds of DD AC to be followed by 4 rounds of DD Taxol. After the 2nd round of dose dense Taxol I started to experience neuropathy in my hands and feet which I knew could happen as one of the side effects. However a few days after my second DD of Taxol, I started to experience a burning/stinging sensation on my torso - back, shoulders, arms, underarms - whenever I used lotions or underarm deodorant. I experience the same sensation on my skin if I just rub it also with no product. I am telling my Onc that I am switching to weekly Taxol on account of these symptoms so will now have 6 weekly treatments to go, but has anyone else experienced this form of skin sensitivity from Taxol treatment?
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thebrave5 I started shedding heavily 4-5 days after 3rd taxol tx. Shaved my head immediately as I didn't want to watch it fall out slowly.
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Djohn - regarding nail, you can choose icing of the nails --you can ask the nurses about this . I have chosen not to ice as it seems like torture to sit with your hands and feet and head in ice throughout treatment.
Brave5 . I am getting 12 weeks of taxol, just finished week # 5. My hair has thinned significantly, thinning started after second treatment , but only noticeable tome, after third treatment noticeable to all --I started with very thick hair, so after treatment five although I have lost most of my hair, there is just a thin layer of hair covering my scalp. I am shedding so much though that I do cover up with a beret and let little wisps of hair show through from the beret and it just looks like a cute style I am trying . I do not plan to shave my head bald because even that little bit of hair on my head will protect my scalp skin from the sun and also serve as a barrier between scalp and wig as wigs can be hot and scratchy. . I anticipate full baldness by the time I reach treatment 12. And I have wistful thinking that if some hair stays on my head at the end af 12 treatments, that's a head start on getting hair back. I am more concerned about my eyebrows and eyelashes --those are what give a sick look to the face.with hair loss, one can just try different styles and have freedom from not thinking about hair products for a while and in fact my head feels incredibly light now --almost make me wonder whether I should stick with some short hair style in the future. I also plan to have fun with wigs. I hve black curly hair and I find that African American websites have wigs that match my hair --so I dug into these wigs and looked at you tube videos, I see that so many young AA girls have a wide variety of wigs just for fashion that they just have fun with ! So I plan to just absorb that fun loving spirit from these videos and try to enjoy wig culture
For nail --the nail lifts because the taxanes cause photosensitivity in the sun is my understanding. So I moisturize my cuticles and wear thin gloves whenever I go out ---I only started wearing gloves one week ago when I realized the skin of the back of my hands was became dark and rubbery . So far so good for my nails after treatment 5--but my nurses say one can still have nail issue at any time during treatment. So I am still worried in a vigilant way.
So definitely moisturize your cuticles, cut your nails as short as you can, and protect your hands from the sun.
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KB870 - My hair was gone with the AC I did before Taxol. It actually started growing back about week 4 on Taxol, totally white though. My thumb nails developed ridges after my final AC treatment in December. I have been keeping them really short and just today they are look better. The ridges were horizontal but then the nails started to split vertically. It's such a pain as they catch on everything. Hope your nails improve but it may take a little more time.
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I had my 9th Taxol yesterday. Today I feel like crap! My body just hurts.
I have not had any nail issues yet. Hope that stays away. I am not icing my hands, there is no way i could handle that.
My hair started to shed so bad after week 4 that I just buzzed it. I'd cry every time I combed my hair. Couldn't stand watching it.
I have 3 more Taxol then I move on to AC.
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Does anyone know how half-life correlates with nadir? I've read on these forums and elsewhere that the nadir for Taxol is day 15. But I've also read that the half life for Taxol is a little under 24 hrs. If the chemical is dissipating that quickly, why does it continue to cause side effects for two weeks? By day 10 or so it would barely be present in the blood, no?
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Aterry,
I have weekly Taxol so if that is the case my body never gets rid of this drug
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