Weekly Taxol group
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thank you for your feedback, everyone! It got so bad I took a Percocet that I have leftover from surgery. That took the edge off. Today it is majorly improved for whatever reason.
Vl22-what is life like post chemo? Has your hair started growing back? I have the Taxol “fuzz” but I’m curious how long after chemo before I start getting real hair again. My last chemo is feb 2.
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CIW - this is my hair 4 weeks after AC and Taxol chemo. My son insisted on getting the dog in the photo
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oh hey that’s looking good!! Here is my hair with two weekly Taxols left. Definitely more in the back then on top
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hi everyone! i’ve been lurking on this thread and haven’t posted except today. but i wanted to ask for prayers and luck for infusion 11. i had allergic reaction to carboplatin infusion 9 and heart palpitation during taxol on infusion 10. after infusion 10 it took longer to recover from the side effects of taxol.
please send positive energy so that I get through the last two doses of taxol.
would appreciate that very much. . Thank you. 0 -
Prayers mkn86! I also have two infusions left and my symptoms got much worse starting on number 9. We will get through this! We are SO close!! I am sorry about your allergic reactions. I started getting heart palpitations from taxol starting on number 8. My MO said that can be normal and should resolve once it completes. I hope the same for you.
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Beauz - thank you so much for dropping in an sharing your experience with the burning throat. I honestly thought I was the only person and beginning to question my sanity
seriously the ON even told me that in her 11yrs of working as an oncology nurse she had never seen a patient with that reaction. It must be pretty rare then cause, even though this is a relatively small clinic, I know they see 1000s of patients a year. But good to know it's a very brief, though scary, reaction. 0 -
I had my 2nd DD taxol today. Just wanted to share that the burning throat reaction I had 1st taxol DID NOT happen today. Thank goodness. My anxiety level was in orbit level by the time I got there due to worrying about that possible reaction. And, again, the 50mg of Benadryl did not make me sleep and I truly think it's because my anxiety is so high that it fights the Benadryl. That's just my opinion, nothing at all whatsoever to base it on. But in the past I've taken those benadryls you can buy in a store (I think they are like 10mg) and they flat knock me out within 15 or 20 minutes. But this 50mg stuff isn't. Anyway, it's not a big deal, I prefer to see what's going on around me anyway!
As for SEs - after my first DD taxol, the side effects I had were
(1) redness on my chest 24 hrs after infustion - this went away in 24hrs
(2) leg aches - this was muscular, not joint. It started 3 days post infusion. It drove me crazy. Laying down made it feel worse. It actually felt better to walk but unfortunately, my Neulasta shot had kicked in and when it kicks in it takes me down from the bone pain (yes I take Claritin but it does not stop all of the pain) and feeling like I have the flu (just that bleck feeling you get with the flu). All I want to do is get in bed to sleep off the "neulasta flu" but the leg aches kept me awake. Advil worked GREAT on this, would hold it at bay about 3 yrs, then come back. But it was totally gone on the 5th day post infusion
These are the only ones I experienced first DD taxol. I know this doesn't help most of you to read, since you are on weekly, but maybe it will help those on DD taxol who lurk here.
I had my 2nd DD Taxol today, no reactions at all. I am worried about what lays ahead with respect to the SEs (the neuropathy scares me to death, even though I am on B6 and B12 to try and prevent it), as I usually worry about what is ahead. But I am determined to not let this chemo treatment whip me down totally. I am going to fight thru these crazy SEs to try and get thru this horror that interrupted my life last year. I don't post much but I try to read here several times a week. Keep fighting, we can do this!!!!
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VL22 and CIW - I LOVE your hair pictures!! You ladies look great!
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mkn86 - You are SO in my prayers! I am actually headed to church in about 20 minutes. You most definitely will be on my prayer list tonight and every day from here on. You can do this!!!
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Marleigh - I will have my last DD of Taxol on Friday reduced 25%. I told the MO what a horrible SE I had with the last one and still have neuropathy in my finger tips but the feet are getting better. I just hope that I don't have to go through that again but I'm sure it will be something. I will be SO GLAD to get this part over with. My husband and I will leave the week after for a few weeks on the west coast and then will probably move on to surgery shortly after. Will be glad to be away for a while.
Good luck with your remaining treatments and yes, we will soldier through it somehow. It will just be a bad memory some day.
Gussy
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I'm actually sitting in the big chair now getting my first round of chemo.
I had the Benadryl and steroids and OMG!! Between feeling like I weighed a ton and wanting to run a marathon it was driving me nuts. Just layed back with my eyes closed for about 15 minutes and it passed.
Have a question. I'm getting conflicting info been the MO and the chemo nurse. The MO said that my hair will thin, but I won't lost it all, the chemo nurse said I will.... what happened to everyone else.
This is my first round/kind off chemo, nothing else besides surgery before this.
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Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that I went to my primary dr and had bloodwork done. My thyroid came back way out of range - like double the normal number. I gained weight really fast on Taxol, finished chemo 12/21/17. Have not lost a pound since despite really trying. He said this is very common on chemo. I have a prescription for levothyroxin - bloodwork will be rechecked in 6 weeks.
So glad I found this out now. Nothing worse than working hard and not losing weight
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VL22-that’s crazy about your thyroid! Makes me wonder about mine because I also gained weight very quickly on Taxol.
Mherzberg-I lost all of my hair. Since starting weekly Taxol I’ve grown little fuzzy hairs, but yes I lost it all initially.
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marleigh and CIW, thank you for the prayers and enouragement. infusion 11 of 12 was completed without allergic reactions. I really appreciate your time
doctor increased steroids and slowed down infusion. On to the 12th infusion next week! MHerzberg i’m sorry you have to be here but i’m glad you found this thread. I lost 90% of my hair with Epirubicin and Cycloohosphamide. My weekly taxol had carboplatin so at this point i don’t know which one cause hair loss 🤣 but during taxol, i started seeing a little bit of peach fuzz and i’m not even done with taxol yet
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Finished 9 of 12 Wednesday. Getting new hair growth and new eyelashes, but my eyebrows are falling out at an alarming rate.
My newest complaint re Taxol is dry eyes. I've been waking up to eyes that are like sandpaper they are so dry. My NP told me to get Artificial Tears, and I've been waking up in the middle of the night to give them some relief. Between that, the nose spray, and humidifier, and you'd think I'd be okay. It's not like I'm not guzzling enough water to hydrate an elephant.
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I have Taxol 7 of 12 tomorrow and I started getting neuropathy in both feet. For the first time in this entire ordeal, I’m afraid.
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MHerzberg-mine has thinned, grown some, and thinned again. It doesn't know what it wants to do. I have patchy hair about half an inch long on my head. The hair on my legs and underarms is pretty much nonexistent and I have lost half of my eyebrows and eyelashes.
VL22 that is good to know about the thyroid. So far I have gained 15lbs on taxol and I have taken levothyroxine for years, I wonder how my levels are and if the dose might need to be adjusted.
I have developed a lovely sore on my tongue and got a script for magic mouthwash that tastes nasty but has helped the pain tremendously. My doctor doesn't think it is from chemo but gave me the mouthwash just in case it gets worse after my infusion tomorrow.
My labs were funky again this week too. Despite getting neupogen a couple times a week for the past several weeks, I am still neutropenic. Can't wait to no longer be neutropenic!
Has anyone ever had problems withblow blood sugar on chemo, my blood sugar was 48 when labs were drawn today. I ate breakfast an hour before labs as usual and it is normally in the 80s.
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kamalokitty-praying for you and hoping tomorrow's infusion leads to a better week for you. I'll also be at chemo tomorrow—we will get through it together. And Sammi!
Sammi-interesting about your blood sugar. I have had the opposite problem. It's been running slightly high during chemo which is strange bc I've never had that happen before. I have also gained 15 pounds on Taxol. So glad we are almost done.
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I kept my weight fairly stable - last week weighed within 2 pounds of when I started with MO 12 months ago. My thyroid medicine has been cut back but my glucose has been all over the place and I can't get either the MO or the Primary to pay much attention to it.
Lost all my hair be week 4 and it grew back very slowly. Right now I'm finding it both too short and too long. Have to get it trimmed about every 4 weeks but still have bare spots on the top of my head.
I do feel that I'm doing well on Femora aft 60 days. One year mammogram next week.
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hello, I had my first dose of taxol yesterday after completing 4 A/C doses. Well around 9:30pm last night my hands started to itch burn swell and have redness. After googling I checked the soles of my feet and super red. Of course called the one call Onc MD, per her advise took benadryl Tylenol and one tab of a steroids (from a medrol dose pack I had for something else and never took). Going into office this am. Until I get there..any advise? Besides ice packs. Hands feel like hot little ants crawling all over. Feet not so bad thank god
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Good morning!
Love the hair pictures!!
MKN...Prayers and positive energy heading your way...always!!
Gussy...So happy you are ending on the chemo part of your journey and on your way soon to a greater (and much happier) journey with your DH...enjoy, enjoy!!
MHersberg...I lost all of my hair with my original diagnosis and treatment. It grew back fairly soon - but slowly - after I finished. Now I am being treated with Taxol for metastatic breast cancer in my bones and bone marrow....I'm a baldy, once again.
Kamalo...Wishing you an uneventful day at your infusion. I had Taxol #8 on Thursday...so far, no neuropathy.
Sammi....OUCH on the mouth sore! Hope the gel works. I've never had a problem with mouth sores, but I do rinse with salt water after every bite of food I put in my mouth. My blood sugar level has always been in the normal range.
CIW....Wishing you an uneventful day at chemo, too!!
Taco...Do you only have a mammo once a year? I had them every 3 months for a year, then every 6 months until I hit that 5 year mark....then, it was every year. Nonetheless, I hope you have a great report!
Theresa...So sorry for your bad reaction to Taxol. I've never had that issue. Hope it's short and sweet and you get relief.
Well, I had Taxol #8 on Thursday. All went well. I'm feeling good today. I think I will be having scans after next week's infusion. That will be 3 months. So, hopefully this chemo is doing a good job. Initially, my onco said I would be on it up to or through April. My thought is the scans will determine the next step.
Wishing all a pain free weekend!
Hope
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My Glucose was all over the place during chemo too - usually low in the normal range, but very high near end of chemo. I’m anxiousto get my follow up bloodwork in early March to see if numbers are back to normal. I believe it will take longer than I anticipated, as with everything!!!
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Hi everyone,
I’m three weeks out from Taxol and herceptin and still having right shoulder pain in particular, although both shoulders and upper back feel achey. I’m also still having upper stomach issues, and one spot of bother in the centre, more to right, along with the bloating and wind i had all through chemo. I’m still in herceptin though, so maybe that has more side effects than the ‘herceptin is so easy’ line they tell you! I hope this gets better, i can’t actually remember what it felt like to feel perfectly well before this all started!
I’m due to start rads on Monday! praying for an easy enough ride through that.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
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Elf - just wanted to touch base to make you feel better. I finished chemo12/21 and still have pains in all the same locations you mention. I will say, however, that it is slowly lessening.
Hope rads is kinder to you! havee a great weekend.
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nonahope - Had a mammogram on my surgical breast at about 7 months but insurance wouldn't pay for both. Second one for that breast and one for my non-surgical one at about 14 months. I was diagnosed in late Nov. 2016 but evidently (for some reason??) the clock for didn't start ticking until January. I see my BS the day after the mammogram. My center always has BC patients come in on a day that a radiologist can read it immediately so if a CT of the breast is needed, I don't have to go back, knocking a week off the anxiety chart. I finished herceptin in mid-Jan. and see MO again in April.
Elfmcg - I didn't feel that I had many SE's from herceptin (although they made me have an echo every 3 months) but I know people do. If you haven't been there yet, I suggest you visit the triple positive thread.
Have a good weekend everyone.
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thanks VL22 and Taco, VL i hope your se's continue to getbetter. I will have a look at that thread.
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Good Morning! I thought I'd share my Taxol #3/Carboplatin #2 story this morning.
Sammi2006 - thanks for thoughts about neupogen (filgrastim) shots. It seems I have to have them after Carbo for sure, maybe after just Taxol.
Could not get Taxol last week - numbers way too low; basically neupogenic. So three shots in three days, with less bone pain for me by getting the third in my belly rather than my arm. I take Claritin every day per my pulmonologist (from before chemo).
MHerzberg - love your description of Benadryl and steroids. Our poor bodies don't know what to do!
Weds., 1/24 had Taxol #3 with Carbo #2 added. Zoomed around Atlanta on Thursday with steroids flowing in my system. By noon Friday, the GI stuff and general ugh hit; binged on Netflix.
My MO reduced Carbo to 80% of what I'd been getting. Plus she scheduled two saline infusions and the 3 neupogen shots. Because Taxol/Carbo is actually working, I really need to push through. Since I could not get last week, I'll only get a total 11 Taxols. Still 4 Carbos.
Flu and viruses are really bad here in Atlanta, so I am pretty much homebound. The weather is nice, so I do get outside for short walks.
Scary and exciting - have my final appointment with breast surgeon scheduled for March 28, a week after Taxol/Chemo done. Repeat mammogram, MRI, and sonogram. Then final consultation/surgery decision is April 4. Surgery week of April 23.
Since I will have radiation and Xeloda after surgery, it's not like I'm seeing a bright white light at the end of a tunnel. But it is a huge big step to see coming my way.
Have a good day, all!
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SissyD - My hands and feet did about the same thing - turned red, itchy and felt like fire coming out of my fingers. Very uncomfortable. About a week later the skin started peeling off the palms and part of the soles of my feet. Google "Hand and Foot Syndrome". That's exactly what my hands looked like. It's gone now and having different and worse SE's from Taxol. Had my last dose yesterday, thank goodness and now waiting to see what this one brings. I still have some neuropathy in the tips of my fingers which will probably never go away. But, everything else has passed. Good luck. A cortisone creme on your hands may help.
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I am so jealous of you ladies that have hair growing back already! I’ve got #12 of 12 coming up next Tuesday and I have next to nothing. I’m curious to see what color it grows back as since I haven’t really seen my natural hair color for a while.
My doctors keep telling me that I’m doing really well and I’m handling the Taxol treatments with minimal side effects. I get that the side effects I am experiencing are not life threatening but they are still difficult on a day to day basis. Especially since they never existed for me before treatments. I appreciate that they help me to treat them but it feels like they are so dismissive of them sometimes.
Feel free to tune out here because I’m going to gripe a bit about my side effects.
For almost 3 months, I have had a runny nose with sores inside my nostrils and on the septum. This has been accompanied by bloody snot and random bloody noses. Claratin, nasal sprays, humidifiers, Vaseline up the nose...none of it really helped. With each treatment came fatigue and a constant battle against diarrhea. Muscle aches and joint aches always followed treatments for a couple of days. I also got a rash on my arms, legs, and scalp. Nothing horrible just very itchy. The scalp was hard to deal with because I couldn’t wear a scarf or hat because it would aggravate it so I had to go around bald for a couple of days. Nausea didn’t start for me until week 6 then it was sporadic. Neuropathy in has been a visitor to my hands and feet. But it continues to be mild so I’m told not to worry until it effects my motor skills or balance. In week 8 my fingernails started to feel bruised, like I had shut my hand in a door. Turns out Taxol can build up under nails and effect the nail beds. So now I have ridges on my nails, some show reddish bruises underneath, the edges are starting to lift, and it’s painful to put pressure on my finger tips. Toes too! Then my big toe goes ahead and gets itself an infection to add to the fun. Luckily, antibiotics totally cleared that up and it is probably a coincidence but my nasal issues also cleared up. And my latest is hyperpigmentation on my face. I look like I went crazy with some blush in a blotchy sort of way. So, I get my side effects have been fairly superficial compared to people who had allergic reactions or severe neuropathy or liver and kidney impacts but they are still side effects that I’m dealing with on this journey. /endgripe Did I mention that next week is my last Taxol?! I am so excited for this part to be over. I have no idea if I will be doing AC next or not. Since I am part of a clinical trial, they are making the determination based on the MRI next Wednesday. My MO estimated the tumor to be less than 1cm so it has shrunk considerably. I’m hoping the lymph nodes have had as awesome of a response as well. So even though the SEs suck, it’s worth it to know it’s working.
About the glucose levels, I was told that steroids can affect blood glucose levels. I believe that steroids will make your blood glucose levels rise. And I think if your platelet count can also effect glucose but I’m not too sure
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