Weekly Taxol group
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barelcaws, Congrats on reaching #12!
Seaster, Good luck starting on the 7th. Be gentle with yourself, go for walks, get fresh air, eat small meals, and stay hydrated! It goes by faster than you might think.
Thanks, for the kind words, everyone!
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Seaster--- best of luck on your Taxol journey.
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bareclaws-congrats on finishing. I hadn't seen you on here for awhile and was wondering where you had been. Glad the last two were easy, mine seemed to be easier towards the end as well.
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in the chair awaitimg #9 taxol/herceptin!
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also in the infusion chair doing pre-meds for Taxol #9. White blood cell count up to 6.5!
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It feels good to be done with the Taxol. It's sinking in today as Wednesday was chemo day! I had the planning session for radiation this morning. Daunting to think I will be there 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Does anyone know of a radiation thread that people have moved over to for the next stage in this journey?
Good luck to everyone still on Taxol. You will get through it.
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bmac16- there is a thread "starting radiation August 2017" created by Legomaster225 might be a good place to go?
Make sure you read about the amazing results people are experiencing by using green tea on the area getting rads 3 times a day
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TooQuiet - congratulations! Celebrate and gather up strength for the surgery! Best of luck to you!
hhuey - I just completed 8 of my 12 weekly Taxols (and herceptin). I am on a low-dose Taxol though I'm not clear if that it case for everyone on this board. My oncologist said the weekly low dose is "moderately tolerable" and I agree with others who responded to you that that has been the case for me. Fatigue is definitely cumulative, but manageable. Day 1 is difficult to sleep with steroids in your system; now a'days, I just do laundry late into the night and watch bad TV.
For me, my hair started coming out after cycle 4 and it steadily shedding. Starting in cycle 6 I was hit pretty heavily with the blues - so emotional, and sad and moody. My oncologist thinks the chemo might be pushing me into early menopause (I'm 47yo) but it is also a natural reaction to the suppression of the hormones.
Good luck with your treatment! Stay Strong!
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Sad sigh. I met with MO today before Taxol #9 and so I asked when I can return to taking Turmeric (I take Relief Factor for arthritis pain and that stuff knocked out all my arthritis pain but MO said to stop taking it during Taxol) Right now the pre-meds are keeping arthritis pains at a minimum but am starting to fegfel the pain again in right knee so was anxious to know how soon after Taxol I could take Relief Factor again. She said I shouldn't take Turmeric any longer as it is estrogen positive so it would work against my AI pills. Crap. My arthritis pain was making me almost unable to stand or walk and I had found a solution that I can't take any longer. MO suggested fish oil and glucosamine and condrotin so will start my research as to which to buy.
Read several stories on how good Turmeric is at fighting cancer but many of those stories have a sentence about not being recommended if on AIs
Just another example of how cancer keeps us returning to who we were before DX and that SUCKS
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Taxol #9 in the books! Uneventful as the others have been. My nurse today was very quick, changing the premeds and moving things right along. The only change I noticed is she gave me the herceptin first, then the taxol. Most of the time its the other way around. Blood work good, my liver numbers all back in range, nurse thought they are seeing a pattern. It rises to a high point by week 4, drops back to low point, then rises again at week 8. Liver is working hard to flush out the toxins, keep pushing lots of water. Will see MO in two weeks, sounds like I will get a week or two off before I start the herceptin only.
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HapB- yes, she is getting me links. I did find many sites in a QUICK online search that mentioned Turmeric acting like estrogen and not being a good idea if ER+.
I will be doing research and then deciding which path to take as I think Turmeric has been good for me overall. BUT I started taking Turmeric last summer and now have ER+ PR+ bc.
From Susan G Komen's web site: "Hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids: Turmeric contains a chemical called curcumin, which might act like the hormone estrogen. In theory, turmeric might make hormone-sensitive conditions worse. However, some research shows that turmeric reduces the effects of estrogen in some hormone-sensitive cancer cells. Therefore, turmeric might have beneficial effects on hormone-sensitive conditions. Until more is known, use cautiously if you have a condition that might be made worse by exposure to hormones."
http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Turmeric.html
Then found this, "On the other hand, supplementation with curcumin has been shown to interfere with the effectiveness of tamoxifen treatment".
http://foodforbreastcancer.com/foods/turmeric
So really don't know MO said to look at flex seeds, fish oil, glucosamine with chondroitin
Please share what you find as I think there is a lot of good with Turmeric .... but if it really acts like estrogen, I will error on the side of fighting my BC, I think
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HapB- I bought that book on smoothies, too. Love my VitaMix!
Agree this needs research. For now still not taking Turmeric while on Taxol. Won't take it before surgery since Turmeric is a blood thinner.
When I get data from MO, I will share. It's a pretty big decision for sure.
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HapB- sure will. This estrogen stuff seems so important for long term NE
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l brain,
I had 12 weekly Taxol and Herceptin same time.. I will continue with herceptin alone every 3 weeks. I haven't heard of weekly herceptin except during chemo. But seems like lots of different protocols. Good luck with your treatment.
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BJI- wondering if you were able to sleep tonight. I am WIDE awake Maybe I should just go to work and take a nap later in the day
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I had to take nap about 430 in the afternoon for an hour. I had to get up at 5am to be at center by 7 (was at lake). I went yo bed 1230, awake til 2, slept til 5, awake til 6, got up at 8. Off to lake again.
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Hi everyone. I have a dilemma and am looking for your opinion.
Most of you know I have been having problems with my wound since having a lumpectomy followed by further surgery to clear the margin and then starting weekly taxol. I had 2 cycles, wound opened, had a break of 4 weeks until wound healed, had another 3 cycles of taxol, wound broke down again and am on another break waiting for it to heal.
I met today with my oncologist and now have a decision to make over weekend. I have 2 choices:
i) Stop Taxol and go straight to AI and 4 weeks of radium (also getting herceptin every 3 weeks for a year)
ii) Give Taxol one more try (have had 5 cycles of 12 so 7 cycles left) but have a very high risk of wound breaking down again which would push my other treatments out until wound heals again. There is also a high risk of infection as I did have one the first time wound opened and oncologist is afraid next time it could be worse, even life threatening.
I am so afraid of stopping chemo but that is what my head and heart are both telling me to do. I really wish the oncologist had made the decision for me but unfortunately she hasn't so it's down to me.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. I am also posting this in the triple positive group forum.
Thank you everyone ☺️☺️0 -
Starting #1 THP tomorrow after finishing 4 DD AC...kinda nervous..went out and got Pepcid, Immodium, and some Aleve..anything else I might want to have on hand
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glassgowgirl99- I wish I had the answer to your question but I don't. So I have been praying that you will be given wisdom and placed on the path of the best solution.
Please let us know how you are doing and know that you are in our prayers Hugs sent your way.
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hhuey- best of luck today as you start your new chemo treatments.
I found I needed to rinse mouth with water/salt/baking soda after eating to cut down on mouth sores with Taxol. And out of 9 Taxol treatments so far, 2 of them caused some constipation (which she have never had before) so am now taking a laxative after Taxol just to be proactive.
I hope you find THP to be easier than AC
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tonyaberryman- good luck today with your next Taxol session.
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Glasgow girl. I would take it from this angle. Your stats are favorable with dcis and no lymph node involvement. What's the risk for sepsis vs risk for recurrance?
Teresa
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DodgersGirl thank you so much for your prayers. I have made a decision and that is to stop the Taxol and move on to other treatments. It's a scary time and I am trying to stay positive. I pray I have made the right decision.
This forum has been such a help to me. I won't be saying goodbye just yet and will post updates and keep checking in on everyone else.
((Hugs)) from Ireland 💕💕0 -
Thank you Dodgersgirl, #8 complete, really sleepy and kinda feeling yucky. Not that bad, a little worried about my fingernails, they are sore. Hoping everyone is having no SE. Hug
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So sorry Glassgowgirl99. That totally sucks, I hope the VAC works. I use KCI VAC as the left breast (due to last year's radiation) is being a PITA to heal and my nickname for the VAC pump. I am assuming the VACS are the same kind of device that speeds up wound healing. I hope everything holds together and you can finish treatments without any more delay.
I ended up getting C-DIFF which if you don't know is an intestinal bacteria that makes your life unpleasant. Found out after chemo began so my 3rd treatment was only the Herceptin and I was put in a different room cause apparently it is very contagious (you have to have contact via bathroom stuff). Back on track this week. Week 4 = treatment 3. Which is why I am still up.
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est
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- Day 1 post Taxol number 1..since I am HER2+ they started Perjeta first for 60 minutes flooded by 60 minute observation..
Then Herceptin for 90 minutes followed by premeds which was 3 steroid tablets, I've pepcid, then benedryl...this was followed by the Taxol for 1 hour... thought they were going to do Zyrtec but when I heard benedryl I was very apprehensive because I have a low tolerance to benedryl and have heard people getting very dizzy from it. Well I did not tolerate the benedryl well at all. I was super shaky, fast heartbeat, dizzy, nauseous...so two infusion nurses sent emails to my doctor and I will be leaving a voice mail for him to change to zyrtec..all n all I was at the infusion clinic for about 6 hours or so. Took a nap in the car while hubby drove and went home to bed.
The infusion nurse said all was dripped very slaw the first time to make sure I did not have any allergic reactions to anything and that the following treatments will be dripped a little faster.
Today I feel fine just a little tired but nothing terrible..not sure what tomorrow will bring but we will see..I hope everyone has a great weekend,
0 - Day 1 post Taxol number 1..since I am HER2+ they started Perjeta first for 60 minutes flooded by 60 minute observation..
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I finished Taxol two weeks ago. I also received AC treatment. I have been doing this since the beginning of February when I was diagnosed. To me Taxol was just as bad as the 4 AC treatments. I think I had every side affect it listed. Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, pain in legs, numbness and tingling in fingers and toes, pain in the legs and swelling in feet, ankles and legs left worse than right. I took it on Wednesday. Friday evening I started feeling it and on Saturday I was down for the day feeling terrible, sleeping and just tired and cold. Sunday was a little better but not much. Most of the time Tue was pretty good. So I basically had Tue, Wed, Thurs feeling pretty good then the rest was not so good. At the end of treatment, maybe the last 3 or 4 I never really felt good for any of the days. At least the Taxol worked no sign on ultrasound of the tumor. Still feeling tired and weak and get a little breathless with too much activity and my feet and legs really bother me to the point of taking pain medication. I have to take fluid pills for the swelling, elevation doesn't help. I have ordered some compression socks to hopefully help. Surgery coming up Sept 1.
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georgia67- happy news that the Taxol and AC did their job based on your U/S results!
Also feel like Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are my best days with infusion on Wednesdays. After 9 Taxol infusions I am still getting new SEs ... Oh well... working toward results like yours. Thanks for sharing as it renews the hope of what chemo may do
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GlasgowGirl, I had to make a number of assumptions since I don't know your age or some of the specifics of your case, but this site suggests that discontinuing your chemo prematurely is unlikely to have a huge impact on your outcome:
http://www.predict.nhs.uk/predict_v2.0.html
One wonders about why 12 doses were used in the initial studies. I recently ran across an article related to some other cancer (colon? lung?) where a study showed no difference in outcome when the number of infusions was reduced markedly from the prior norm and, of course, radiation oncologists have been studying the effects of larger doses, but for 15 - 20 sessions instead of 30 for many patients.
Hhuey, I hope your doctor is receptive to the Benedryl alternative, but will note that slowing the infusion rate helped me a lot.
Lyn
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