Weekly Taxol group
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Congrats on being finished with rads!! That’s a huge step!!!
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Questions about Taxol starting on July 17th for 12 weeks. Then surgery and radiation. What do I need to have at home to make the side effects easier. What should I expect? Finish 4 cycles of AC this site help me get thru that Thank You. The doctor said Taxol is a lot easier. Thanks in advance for all your words of wisdom.
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llupp - many consider taxol "chemo lite," especially after AC. Some even have their hair start to return (for us taxol only ladies, it just keeps falling out). I would have on hand nexium and claritin (generic is fine). MO gave me anti-nausea meds to take but I realized it really was just heart burn. For reasons I have never understood, claritin seems to help most of us with joint pain. I have continued it with my AI's. The biggest thing for me was to be certain that I had had a good bowel movement the day before chemo. I continued the probiotic I was taking and added miralax daily. If needed, I took a stronger laxative the day before. Really solved the constipation/diaherra cycle. The steroids keep me awake the first night and I suggest having light reading material or movies available. I sort of dosed on my couch that first night. It's important to keep your counts up so don't skimp on the proteins. Keep asking questions and we will try to help you. It's a journey, not a race.
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Agree with all Taco said. I bought some generic Claritin and Pepcid. It’s funny—no nausea for me but I do take the meds for their side effects. Going into this I was afraid of the Big D so take a Zofran for a day or two because it’s constipating and I was taking a Compazine for the first two nights because they make you drowsy—it helped me sleep after the steroid. My body seems to have adjusted to the steroid—I no longer have sleep issues, even the first night after tx. I have also really pushed the protein—probably eating red meat five times a week, plus having a protein shake most days. My MO said I’m the only patient she’s seen who’s actually making blood
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A few days after T3 and the neuropathy freaked me out! My foot went numb and been having tingling throughout my body and face. Haven't talked to my MD yet but does anyone else feel horrible anxiety
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llupp, I did 4 rounds of AC and then started Taxol and had to take a 3 week break (I think the AC caught up to me). I just finished my 3rd Taxol and I have to remind myself that this isn't AC. For me, the SEs are different - like numbness, tingling, dizziness. I'm curious to see how it goes the further I get into this but we're all doing this together so let us know how you are
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llupp - I just did Taxol 11 on Thursday. The first 7-8 were fine. Very little fatigue, no major side effects beyond being a bit wired the Friday from the steroids. Tastebuds shots from Friday night to about Tues. Wed & Thurs night have been the only nights where I felt I tasted my meals sort of properly.
The first signs of neuropathy started around 7&8 as well. For 10, 11, & 12 I'm icing. The neuropathy symptoms got better! There are supplements mentioned in this thread too - discuss with your mo what you can take.
Since #9 I need naps on the Sat & Sunday. By Monday I'm feeling pretty much ok.
It's been way less physically taxing than AC though my bone marrow continues to be badly affected, my blood counts are very low &I'm one of the few that has to keep up the granulocyte stimulating shots for 3 days after treatment each week. Because my counts are low, I continue moderate neutropenic precautions - not going into crowded places, not having guests etc. I focus on going lots to open parks & forests, stretching, massage therapy, baths with epsom salts, & my family continues to clean and disinfect the house quite thoroughly.
My nose lost all its hair, runs all the time, is very fragile and tends to be bloody. Saline gel put in at night on q -tip keeps it moisturized and stops a big bleeding clot being dislodged in the morning. It was really annoying before I read that recommendation for saline nose gel somewhere on this board.Oh I also started getting a cough a couple weeks ago - either related to the taxol, my allergies, or some stupid virus which is going around my town. It's been annoying but not too bad.
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Moth - the nose thing (bleeding and running) will go away quickly after you finish, I predict. Mine was done in like a week. A friend who was undergoing chemo at the same time for a different kind of cancer assured me it would and it did.
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Hello ladies,
Just had my first paclitaxel yesterday. My chemo plan is 12 weeks of weekly taxol followed by every other week AC x 4. So far only had fatigue last night. I'm trying to do cold capping with Penguin caps to see if I can save my hair (at least through the taxol). Will be looking through this thread for more hints and tips when I get a bit more time.
Re: the neuropathy, I've heard B6, and glutamine, can anyone share the recommended doses? I also have some cooling mitts, but I was trying to start them before the infusion and between the cold head and generally cold sensitive hands, I couldn't take it yesterday. I'll try again next monday. for those doing the mitts, do you just wear them during the infusion, or afterwards as well. Any other hints?
Thanks and positive vibes to all.
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Cria - re icing, I do both hands and feet. I start when the pre-treatment drugs are on the drip, which is about 20 min, so by the time the taxol starts running, everything is nice & cold. They do a 5-10 min rinse after the taxol and I keep ice on during that as well. Of the two studies I recently read that showed it helped with neuropathy, one said they just did it during the paclitaxel infusion & replaced them every 30 min; the other said they started 15 min before a 60 min paclitaxel treatment started and continued 15 min past its ending, and they replaced them just once, at the 45 min mark. I'm kind of doing a mix of both - replacing every 30-35 min, starting early, continuing essentially until they kick me out of the chair.
Do you have someone coming with you for the treatments? My dh does everything with the ice packs on my hands & feet & he also adjusts my headphones, reloads my netflix when it crashes, holds up my drink for me etc..because in the mitts I can't do anything for myself. Also, I wear very thin cotton gloves & socks under the ice packs. I can't do it straight on the skin until right at the end, when the packs are warming up a bit...0 -
oh chemo, the gift that keeps on giving: one of my big toenails is lifting. Just noticed this morning after my shower. I don't see any fungal infection or anything. It's like it just decided to lift off.
It's a small thing but also.....yuck and ick
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cria, 100 mg of B6 per day; 30 grams of l-glutamine per day, divided into two or three “servings” and mixed with the liquid of your choice. I see you’re in Minnesota - I did my chemo at MN Oncology at Abbott, and the nurses there gave me some sample packets of l-glutamine to try. They told me to take it 4 days a week - day of chemo and three subsequent days. Keep taking it for two or three weeks after you finish taxol. When I ran out of packets I bought the powder at GNC. I also cold capped very successfully with Penguin cold caps.
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First Taxol down yesterday only 11 to go. Only side effects so far my face is very flush and feels warm took my temp it's fine so strange. Was amp up last night from the steroids.
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llupp I took a Compazine the first few nights after tx to help me sleep for the first several infusions. But I also don’t really notice the steroid any more—I don’t get ravenously hungry, I sleep fine—it’s like my body has adjusted. Congrats on having one behind you!
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Steroid always made my face flush....
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Steroids gave me hot flashes.
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Steroids gave me hot flashes.
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Cria, I'm on the same chemo plan, and will do the fourth taxol infusion tomorrow. So far I've lost most of my hair (did not cold cap), and have other minor bothers now and then -- a little fatigue, a little bloating, a new lactose intolerance. But I feel much, much better if I exercise -- the first 5 or 10 minutes I feel like I'm too tired to run, and then suddenly running feels wonderful.
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Ingerp I just finished my #9 Taxol Monday and I cannot wait for these next few weeks to be over. I’m so exhausted by Wednesday and I’m having severe bone pain in my legs. This week my whole body just seems to hurt everywhere. I hate feeling so helpless and my appetite sucks now. Absolutely nothing tastes right or good. Started developing neuropathy in my hands and fingers last week and my big toe on my left foot is loose and oozing/smelly. Onc says it’s just an unfortunate se of Taxol and I’ll probably lose it. Randomly I get my chemo at The Hope Center in Charlottesville so I may have seen you around.
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Cria, I'm on the same chemo plan, and will do the fourth taxol infusion tomorrow. So far I've lost most of my hair (did not cold cap), and have other minor bothers now and then -- a little fatigue, a little bloating, a new lactose intolerance. But I feel much, much better if I exercise -- the first 5 or 10 minutes I feel like I'm too tired to run, and then suddenly running feels wonderful.
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Hello Fangurl! I’m being treated at Martha Jeff (for the non Central Virginians, that’s Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville).
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Fangurl, are you icing? I started icing hands & feet when neuropathy just started showing up and it made a huge difference for me. Not only did it stop it from getting worse, it seemed to reverse the severity so I went back from grade 1/2 neuropathy to grade 0/1
I started getting joint & muscle pain too, towards the end of the 12 treatments. Registered massage therapy really helped me and in between I used Advil pretty regularly and that was enough to keep it under control. Hope you can find something to help you. (oh yeah, one of my toenails is starting to peel off as well. fun fun!)
Friends, I'm done! Taxol 12 finished a couple hours ago. Quiet affair as our center doesn't do the bell or big celebrations. Glad to be done & looking forward to healing. Moving on to rads from here once they give me the dates.
best wishes to everyone still in treatment!0 -
- hi all,
- I had my last taxol on July 11Th and I’m so very tired and fatigued however the heaviness in the chest and getting out of breathe has improved a bit. I find I can do more than I did last week. The nose bleeds are subsiding. The neuropathy in my left hand has already gotten better but my feet seem to be getting worse. I can’t wear closed shoes cause my feet get so numb I can’t feel them.
- I am no longer craving sweets and have zero appetite. The diarrhea is still a big problem for me that I can’t even hold water in.yesterday they had to
- Give me IV fluids because I was so dehydrated.
- SO there is hope that with time we will all feel better from the nasty side affects.
- My mammo showed that the chemo moderately changed the tumor and lymph nodes. They want to do surgery quick and scheduled me for August 10th.
- I’m so scared like never before. They won’t do recon and the thought of being flat and seeing it I don’t think I’ll be able to handle. It’s like a this all of a sudden became real if that makes sense.
Hope everyone’s SE’s don’t get worse and that those who have that you soon see improvement.0 -
Congratulations on being done Moth and Idkidk
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Congrats Moth and Idkidk, hope you girls feel better by the day.
Idkidk, all the best for your surgery
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Idkidk--sorry for the ongoing issues but congrats on being done! (Interesting about the sweets--I was never an ice cream gal but have been eating it by the gallon through tx.)
Moth--great news on finishing! I have #10 today, so 14 days until I am done. I cannot wait. How many rads will you do? It just occurred to me this morning I'll probably have two days when I'm doing the Herceptin only infusions + rads--thinking I might treat myself to taking the whole day off when that's the case. <phew!>
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For Ingerp and all......
CONGRATS MOTH!!!! WOOT!!! special one for you....
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Maybe these weekly pictures are why I've been eating so much ice cream lately! Honestly it's never been my sweet junk food of choice but I've been going through it like it's going out of style the last couple of weeks. Thanks again Egads!! Fourteen days til my last one!!
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Ingerp, totally makes sense that the reality is hitting you all at once. It's just what our brains do. But you'll handle it. When it's hard, remember to take some deep breaths. There are lots of us doing them right along with you.
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idkidk - oh I hope the diarrhea subsides quickly; that sounds awful; good luck with the surgery & the adjustment. You'll get through it, just like you got through this. I've been really enjoying the quote "you don't have to be brave, you just have to show up"
ingerp - they've prescribed 16+4 boosts so 20 total. How about you? I'm just getting annoyed at them for not telling me when it will start. The RO at first told me she wanted to give several weeks to recover from chemo and then said but it might be longer as there is a waitlist of 4-6 weeks due to repairs on one of the machines. But someone at the same center who is just a couple weeks ago was told the same thing and then got a call 2 weeks pfc to start 2 days later! She was scrambling to rearrange things on such short notice. I hate the not knowing. I keep thinking that this cancer experience has really highlighted for me how much I need to work on my control issues. gotta go back to the meditation cushion and setting intentions to just go with the flow.
frog - thank you! It's kind of weird realizing I'm done with this part! I don't think it's sunk in yet. You're nearing the last 1/3 right? I hope you're doing well.0
