Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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Hi VLH- I am about 4 1/2 weeks out from my last Taxol and the hot flashes are my worst complaint. I think my fatigue would be getting better if I could sleep at night. Instead I do the same... wake up with a hot flash, whip off all the covers, drenched in sweat, then freeze because I am sweaty. I have several during the day as well. I am only doing Herceptin every three weeks at this point. I had not yet been through meopause before starting chemo.
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VLH - I am getting hot flashes too and no hormones yet. I'm about 6 weeks PFC.
I-brain- I walked every day with my 3 dogs through Taxol and found it helped with the achiness and stiffness in my legs and hips.
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hi everyone, I'm a newbie here but a veteran of this cancer nonsense. I did AC+T in 2011 so I'm still figuring out how "just" Taxol will go. My nurse has told me that she doesn't think I'll lose my hair, but from what I've read it looks like most of you have? It doesn't matter much to me, I'm just trying to be prepared, ya know?
I saw that a lot of you were also having allergy like symptoms or possibly allergies. I haven't had them in years but they're on like gangbusters now! Yay Cancer!
I_brain, I'm the same place in my Taxol as you. Still trying to figure out what are chemo symptoms and what is my normal contrary body. I have fibromyalgia, Crohn's disease and a big old hunk of metal in my right leg (got the left leg's hardware removed in December,) sooo...I'm kind of a wreck without chemo.
Bravepoint, I walked dogs during most of chemo the first time. Haven't been quite as diligent this time because I was wiped out from my mastectomy, but I'm trying! I think it definitely helps mentally if nothing else.
Anyway, hi everyone! I'm glad I found this group.
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oh yeah, I've been peeing 1,000 times a day. Does anyone else have that? I don't know if it's hormonal or what. I feel kind of moody right now and not sure if that's stress or hormone related (because I have no reason to be stressed! 😏)
To those of you who were pre-menopausal before treatment, when did it kick in for you?
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Hello Everyone,
Sorry you are here, but glad to meet you.
bravepoint-glad to hear that about the walking. It definitely makes me feel better physically and emotionally. It's good to have a routine that I can control. My oncologist is adamant that exercise is the best thing for SE, recovery, and beating cancer in general.
bulletproof-for what it is worth my oncologist said 2nd or 3rd treatment if it was going to. Everyone seems different, but from what I've seen most do lose their hair. I am trying to prepare for that. I haven't lost any yet, but feel it will start soon. I pee a lot, but I've been drinking tons of water. Moody as well. Seem to get grumpy about day 3 and then I start to feel better and grumpiness fades.
wlhockeymom-I had nightly sweat then cold after the first treatment, but so far none after the second. Hopefully they don't come back.
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Thanks for the responses, ladies. I'm glad I asked because I'd only heard hot flashes mentioned in connection with hormonal therapy. I'm glad I have extra pillowcases, but had to take a chance and toss my "spot clean only" sofa throw pillows in the washer because I have a sensitive nose and thought they smelled sweaty. Sorry, probably too much information.
Lyn
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Hi,
This is my first time posting. I have finished with my 4 DD A/C treatments and I just finished my 2 Taxol treatment with 10 more to go. The night sweats are so bad. I will go to bed fine then wake up drenched in sweat and then freeze when I take the covers off. My one year old was up in the middle of the night last week and I was changing his diaper while his dad was getting him a bottle and he peed on our bed. We had to turn on the lights and look for the pee spot, which was on my SO side of the bed, and I saw the huge wet spot I had on my pillow case from my sweating, yuck. I also feel my sheets, blankets and the whole room smells of my sweat. My SO assures my he can't smell it. I air out my room and change my sheets and blankets often.
I hate the steroids. I loose sleep and talk a mile a minute. I am also experiencing mild body aches. I am guessing it is from the Taxol. My lower back, my legs, and my jaw ache. My hair is gone but I lost it with the A/C chemo. Also, most food tastes bad. My coffee has been awful this last week. Thank you for letting me vent
Anna
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AnnainMontana - I went through the exact same things on Taxol. This is the place to vent! I'm about 6 weeks PFC and except for my tongue still being a bit weird feeling the rest of the SEs are gone.
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Anna, you sound just like me, same regimen, same complaints. I dumped it all at the 4th week of Taxol pre-infusion visit the with nurse practitioner and she said to take the week off, and that we'd continue this week with a reduced taxol dose and reduced steroids. I've heard of other women skipping a week of Taxol here and there. You could ask. Give your body a chance to recover a bit. After all, the goal is to finish, not to place.
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Welcome, Anna! I went through AC the first time I had cancer and I'll tell you the taxol felt like no big shakes in comparison. I used to call it the "kinder, gentler chemo." Of course, that's not saying much after AC. But it felt easier. I think the last two weeks I was pretty wiped out and stayed in bed a lot. Also, holy shit, I can't believe you're doing this with a one year old.
This time around after the mastectomy and reconstruction and port placement, the Taxol feels like it's kicking my ass. And I am never quite sure if it is actually the taxol over my other health problems acting up. After reading what you all have had to say, I'm thinking it is indeed the Taxol. Which makes me feel oddly vindicated. Like I need a good excuse to feel crappy.
So not looking forward to the sweats. I can get pretty sweaty in my sleep anyway from various medications I imagine. I was going to go get my haircut in some ridiculous manner today. My stylist had breast cancer last year and she seemed to think she lost her hair at 8 weeks. But then, she's kind of a spaceshot. Speaking of,I'm such a space shot lately, I totally messed up the time and missed my appointment. I am debating at which point I am going to have my boyfriend cut it off. Do I have him give me a buzz now or should we have matching Mohawks? It's always good to have an excuse to look ridiculous and I need a hair cut
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P.S. is it frowned upon to curse in here? It's really just how I talk
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I love this: "It's always good to have an excuse to look ridiculous".
And I hope it's not frowned up to curse here! Of all the things to curse about, cancer is surely one of the most deserving. I didn't even notice that you did, to be honest, but I'm in the military so you'd have to go on a pretty wild cursing streak before it registered for me. Haha. There is a special thread around here somewhere specifically for ranting though, so that might be handy if you're feeling extra-cursy one day. (FYI, I'm lurking here because I'm doing Taxol later in the summer after AC and possibly surgery...)
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Although I have finished my AC treatments and have had two Taxol treatments, I've just now discovered this blog site. I'm hoping for some advice in managing fatigue. Before my surgery/chemo I attended yoga classes three times a week and tried to walk 2 to 3 miles a day. I had such a rough time with the AC that I'm still very weak and rarely leave the house. It's been four weeks since my last AC treatment, and I thought I'd start to feel stronger by now. The Taxol treatments are definitely easier to handle than the AC, but why aren't I feeling better? Has anyone used acupuncture to treat nausea and fatigue?
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Anna, I'm in the same time frame with my treatments. Regarding the steroids, I asked my MO if we could eliminate it completely, and he did! I was so jittery and couldn't sleep after the treatments which made feeling miserable even worse! Don't be afraid to ask.
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parakeetsrule & KB870, I'm glad I didn't offend! My boyfriend is ex military (10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, we bonded over our traumas!) and my dad was a Boston cop for 35 years. I think that counts for something. But, if I'm being totally honest, I've had a foul mouth basically since I figured out bad words were a thing. I just tone it down when necessary.
DonnaJoan, I've been going to acupuncture for years! I just went for my first treatment since surgery. He treated me for fatigue and not sure what else. But definitely try it if you can. Just make sure you get someone good
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New lymphedema worries - anyone else?
I went to the surgeon for a check up and the nurses measured my right arm (surgery side) and it is a little larger than the other side. There is some minor swelling. They say there's no point my seeing a lymphedema specialist till I've finished chemo.
I'm just feeling low and disheartened because Lymphedema is so scary - I type for my work and used to kickbox before all this! I only had 2 nodes taken out.
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It seems as if several of us are on week 2 of Taxol some after A/C (my case) and some newbies.
I have a coworker who is a MO (not mine) he told me he tells his patients to try to exercise every day the equivalent of a 30 to 45 minute walk. On the days you feel really bad at least walk around the house/yard or somewhere. I have followed that advice and been very lucky with minimal SE. Yes there's the sleepless nights and constipation and aches and pains, but nothing awful. Just wanted to share in case it's the exercise making the difference (hope I'm not posting in misery in a few weeks time LOL
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Bulletproof (and others) when you went through A/C -T before, when did your hair grow back? I hear sometimes it starts to grow back during the weekly
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Bmac16 - My hair started growing back about week 6 on Taxol. Then my eyebrows and eyelashes all fell out! I am now almost 8 weeks PFC and they are back. I even went for a trim of my hair around my ears last Friday.
Exercise definitely helps. I made an effort some days to drag myself out for our usual early morning walk with our dogs. I always felt better, less achy afterwards.
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Tinker bell, sorry about the lynphedema. I don't have any experience with it myself. I had 3 nodes removed the first time and never had a problem. I hope it's not that for you. Why wouldn't you see a specialist until you're done with chemo? I'm just curious, I don't know. But it seems like if that's what's happening they should be able to do *something* to help.
KB870, indeed he was! In 2013.
BMAC, my hair did indeed start to grow back during Taxol. Although my eyebrows started to fall out. That's part of why I'm wondering if I'll lose my hair now. Also, my chemo nurse doesn't think I'll lose it. But I'm more inclined to listen to people who have gone through it. Still debating what I'll do with my hair. It's driving me crazy because I'm in desperate need of a haircut.
As for me, tomorrow is #3! My biggest complaints are fatigue and some joint pains. After that it's a lot of small but annoying things. I feel like my skin and mucous membranes are rebelling. Everything is extra dry, but I have some lovely acne to spice things up. And then there's the ongoing slow drip that I call my nose.
I feel like I was less complainy the first time. And I hate that I'm feeling negative. That's just not who I am.I mean, I know I'll be okay... jeeze, I think I've already bitched about this exact thing in here. That's the other thing, can't think for shit!
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Thanks Bravepoint. My eyebrows have gone and I have a few eyelashes remaining! The hair loss sucks.
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Oh yes Bulletprooflegs. The constant nose drip! Always at the worse moment like when I'm about to pay for something in a store. Should buy shares in Kleenex
And the chemo brain! We are having a bathroom remodel at the moment and I'm sure I'm not going to remember where I stored half my stuff.
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Sadly, I had "fibro fog" and a history of a traumatic brain injury before chemo! Technically, it was in between chemo (car accident was 3 weeks after I got my first port removed.) So I fully expect to be a drooling feeble minded fool with this... let's be honest, I was a fool before chemo.
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I'll probably be right there with you at the end of the month BMAC, minus the new bathroom! I've been staying at my boyfriend's place until my roommate is out (she works at a school and is constantly sick.) I'm sure by the time I get back to home sweet home, it'll be like a whole new world. My cats have probably forgotten me entirely.
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True! I'm Greta's mommy too. She was a 2 week old orphan when she got dropped on my doorstep
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hi bulletprooflegs
Thanks for your message! I've self referred to a lymphedema specialist for next week to find out more. I've learned not to listen to doctors after being given a false negative when I found my lump 2 Years before I was finally diagnosed!
On the hair front, I have just had Taxol 8 and I still have all my hair though it is now shedding a lot. I use a Paxman cold cap (I'm in the UK) and Daniel Field hair products. Hoping to make it through with most of my hair now
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Hi, I finished my twelfth and final weekly Taxol/Herceptin infusion 3 weeks ago. I didn't start losing any hair until the 9th or 10th infusion....and now, three weeks out, it is shedding heavily. I would say I have lost about 30 per cent of my hair...I had a pretty good head of hair to begin with so it still looks okay so far..I'll try to keep you posted or you can email me at kmoye@comcast.net if you want to see how I fared....overall the weekly Taxol was very tolerable. I have a tiny bit of numbness in one foot which I only notice occasionally. I was able to work and play tennis during my treatment, felt pretty normal overall. Good luck!
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Hi
Has anyone else had a lymphedema scare? One of my arms is bigger than the other according to nurses - I asked them to check and they measured it. They say too early for Lymphedema checkup as might be chemo SE. it is my dominant arm and surgery was on that side. Feeling very down about it.
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Bmac16, my hair started growing as soon as A/C stopped. I had an extra week off between treatments and have just had my 7th treatment of Taxol and Carboplatin. It is now 1/4 -1/2 inch long and starting to get thicker. It comes in pretty thin at first, and what my kids and I refer to as 'duck fuzz.' It is starting to darken up though. I worry though, because this was my last treatment for a bit. I have to stop for surgery as the tumor is getting bigger. Less solid and more cystular, so hopefully that is from dead cells rather than chemoresistance. Only way to know is to get it out. I will finish the remaining treatment as soon as I have healed enough.
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How scary, Swimmomma! Please keep us posted.
Lyn
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