Weekly Taxol group
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Mary...I always had Pepcid and Benedryl and something else for nausea in my premeds when I was on Taxol. Never had any issues...other than neuropathy.
Hope
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I had my first Taxol Treatment yesterday. I was really nervous and traumatized from the AC treatments, as my side effects were BRUTAL from the AC. But, I am happy to report, I had almost zero side effects from the Taxol! I was a little groggy from all the Benadryl, but after a 3 hour nap after treatment, I woke up feeling fine and knock on wood, still feeling good!
**I would like to note, for those who started Taxol as first treatment - I lost my hair and had severe side effects while going through AC (to the point of being nearly bed-ridden the first 4-6 days or so after each treatment) - Which consisted of the first half of my chemo regimen. So this Taxol treatment is a bit of a relief for me, but may not be so for everyone! Of course my perception may change after a few more Taxol treatments!
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Nine down, 3 more to go! August seems like a long time ago but I’ve been lucky with side effects. I was worried about today’s infusion because last week for the first time they had trouble accessing my port and stuck me 6 times. I was bruised and swollen but everything went fine today.
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I have pepscid, a steroid, and benadryl for premeds. The benadryl totally knocks me.out. I woke up and peed my pants and a bit of something else. Will be like immature five year old next time and bring some spares. Lol!
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Hey hey! On the couch chilling in pjs! Today was great! The numbing cream on the port is the way to go. As always 4 vials of blood before tx. Blood work was rocking! Been eating more of the good stuff these days! Tx started, worked on laptop while sitting in the recliner the entire time! Herceptin is first, then Taxol. Tx was a little shorter this time and from now on only will be 1 1/2 Hrs! I hope these good days will continue. I’m positive they will be!! 2 down, 10to go😘👊! Good luck to all! Hope y’all feel great too!
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So many premeds that I sleep all the way through. Mine are always four hours. However, I did the numbing cream for the first time today. It has an adult-proof cap, so I made a tiny hole in the bottom with my nail clipper. Mea culpa.
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McBaker-the cap is incredible! Never seen nothing like that! Great idea with hole in bottom. May try that next week! Good night. Work tomorrow! Keep y’all updated!!
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Thanks for all the tips for the anemia. I hit the chair tomorrow - the IV benadryl really knocks me out too. I was a hot drooly mess week 1 and 2, better on week 2, but still a hot mess. The iron is going to take an extra hour, so probably 4.5 hrs for infusion in all.
One of my sisters is going with me tomorrow. She will drive home for sure. I'm really loopy afterwards. There is no way on Earth I could do this chemo thing on my own..... I am so thankful for my tribe and those that have rallied behind and around me. MB1
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Any of you gals on weekly Taxol. Women heavy into fitness? are any of you able to workout and do intense workouts or weight lifting on weekly Taxol? or does in leave you too weak and fatigued.
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Hi everyone! I had taxol #9 of 12 yesterday, so I feel like the end is in sight! My worst side effect has been constipation and bloating. The severity varies from week to week, but it's always there. I've been taking colace and eating lots of fiber rich foods and drinking lots of water. I'm really hoping this is something that goes away as soon as the taxol is finished.
My hair started coming out after #5. I had my husband shave it down to about a 1/4", expecting that it would all fall out, but I still have some dark stubble (that sometime seems to be falling out) and now have some wispy white hairs that I think are new growth. I did get folliculitis about a week after shaving my head, which was incredibly itchy and painful. They prescribed clindamycin gel, which cleared it up. I also stopped covering my head at home and I think the fresh air exposure helped as well.
I've been icing my hands and feet since the start and other than some minor tingling in my index fingers, it seems to be working.
Good luck to all of you!
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Hopebry - I started running again during Taxol (AC knocked me out so I couldn't do anything). I wouldn't call it super intense at this stage, and I can feel the cumulative fatigue building up, but I am 5 treatments in and running 5k 3-4 times a week. Just hoping I can keep it up till the end!
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HopeBry--I'm no athlete but have been going to a gym pretty regularly for the last several years. I did cut back during Taxol--really just did light cardio a few days a week. That said there's no reason not to try. Just be gentle with yourself if it makes you feel worse rather than better.
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Thank you! I would like to get into bodybuilding but was wondering if 12 wks of Taxol affect me too mimuch tx
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You ladies are rocking it on this board! Way to go! Taxol will be over before you know it!!
I am now almost 8 weeks pfc and wanted to report that my eyebrows and eyelashes are growing back! This week is the first I’ve seen any growth from them.
The SE’s of Taxol are but a distant memory! They will be for you as well.
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Misha—music to my ears! I want some eyelashes and eyebrows! I can be patient—I think!
2.5 weeks out from Taxol for me
HopeBry—Just see how you feel. I started running again during Taxol but really started feeling better after it was finished. I haven’t lifted because my arm sucks, damn AND. My body and mind love the exercise so do what feels good and rest when you need to.
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Hi Ladies,
I am on week #7 of Taxol for Triple Negative, Stage IV BC... I lost my hair during the 3 rounds of AC... then I went right into TAXOL...
Will i get my hair back???? please, please! My MO says i will but it's slow going. It looks / feels like i'm getting a little stubble.. but it grew so much faster last year when i lost my hair to AC treatment.
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Hopebry - I've only had one taxol, but I've been trying to get back in the groove of things. My intensity is nowhere near what it was pre-diagnosis, but it definitely makes me feel better to be moving again! When I got my cancer diagnosis in June I sunk into a little depression and used cancer as a crutch for not working out, then after surgery I was limited. I didn't work out for months so I got really out of shape (and gained a ton of weight).
I feel like I'm starting over with a fitness level of 0. I can barely run more than a few minutes and I've completed marathons of 26.2 miles in the past...But it just gives me something to work towards! Now I'm just trying to combat the steroid weight gain.....
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Misha - That's so encouraging. Can't wait to be done.....I only have 11 more to go LOL
Tina - From what I've heard, the hair will grow back! Mine has even sprouted a little bit since finishing AC in December, but I've only had 1 taxol. I've heard of women who's hair actually grew back during Taxol and others within weeks of stopping taxol. Just give it some time. I have the worlds slowest growing hair, so I won't count on much for at least a few months haha. Hopefully yours is fast!
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If Taxol was your first chemo - how long before you lose your hair? I start Friday.
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Hi Lee I started seriously losing mine after my 4th treatment... after a terrible experience in the shower my best friend came and shaved my head for me. I have peach fuzz now but I'm finding bald patches now. BEST thing is I haven't had to shave my legs in 3 weeks lol
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Same here, gobs out after 4th, peach fuzz now with bald patches.
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For those of you doing only weekly taxol + herceptin (ie no prior chemo regimen to that), can I ask for a "typical day" - how long are you there and how long are the different parts of the infusion (premeds, then which drug first / second, or after 1-2 sessions T+H at same time or never?). I know the first session they go extra slow and 1 at a time to make sure re side effects, but after that how does it usually go?
It's not like I'll be rushing to a ball haha, but I'm trying to prepare for how long i have to keep myself - and my husband - amused, and the transit timing and so on. Plus I'll be cold capping (with assistance) and that will add hours, but total time really depends on the window around the Taxol right (as in cap on for pre-meds, for taxol, and for the long period after, but herceptin could be during that time too?).
It's hard to get laid out what the days will really be like!! Thanks for any thoughts and I know if the pre-med cocktail is as sleep inducing as it sounds, hubby may be on his own some. But the cold caps will probably keep me from a full on snooze fest I expect!
Thanks for all the great info, I'm ready to start (and even more ready to be done...)...
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I allow four hours. They put the premeds in one at a time. One week I was using benadryl all week, and the benadryl was ineffective in reducing the efffects of the steroid. I was very uncomfortable, antsy as hell, and wanted to get up and do jumping-jacks. Now i don't touch benadryl during the week, and i sleep like a baby. Literally. Hopefully they won't give me so much next time.
Hubby will have to entertain himself for most of the time.
That is my experience, but I have a track record of multiple allergies, so they may do it different with me.
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Leee--I think 3-4 treatments is typical for seeing significant hair loss. I think after #3 I cut my hair down to about an inch; after #4 I took it down to 1/8".
boogirl--I did not cold cap, appts were always at 9:40, and I typically left around 1:00-1:30. I didn't get a port so it took a while to warm my arm/start the IV. Then several rounds of premeds (two were always given together). The initial Herceptin was 90 minutes but then they'll cut that back to 30. The Taxol is 60 minutes. There are flushes of several minutes in between everything. The IV Benadryl did make me woozy but I never slept. A lot of women have sleep issues the first few nights after tx because of the steroid but my body kind of got used to it after the first few weeks so I never really had that. And just in terms of SEs, my treatment was on Fridays. I'd feel really good Fri/Sat/part of Sun. Start to drag a little bit Sun/Mon but then start to come back around. I never got nauseated, and really just felt kind of low energy/heavy. I've posted on a lot of threads that I ate a *lot* of protein during tx--red meat 5/6 times a week plus a protein shake every day. My bloodwork was really good throughout. My MO said she was the only patient she had who was actually making blood through tx. Funny to think I finished over five months ago.
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boogirl, ask them to give you herceptin after taxol, so you can use that as part of your post-chemo capping time. I used Penguin cold caps, and was there at least six hours—starting cold caps during premeds (50 minutes), an hour to hour and a half of taxol, and four hours of post chemo capping. With taxol alone, I don’t think four hours is necessary, but back in the “old days”, I don’t think Penguin had much experience with weekly taxol alone. Anyway, I lost almost none of the hair on my head
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I think I lost half of the hair I had left this morning. It is lying in a clockwise swirl around my head. Uncompressed, it filled my hand, and that does not count what went down the drain, and what is sitting on the towel. Requiem for hair, gives life for me.
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Tina-Marie—I am growing hair like crazy. It's a fuzzy mess. I'm getting a haircut in 2 days. I just have to get it evened up. My front is thinner than the back but I see the front darkening up and starting to grow in more. It's like baby hair. Feathery. I posted a pic on the August 2018 chemo tread a few pages back. It's quite a bit longer now.
Boo—are you icing your hands and feet, too? I might have missed that. I iced my hands and feet 20 minutes before and after the Taxol and had virtually no neuropathy. I frostbit my hands, however. 🥶
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yes I will be icing hands and feet too, definitely don’t want neuropathy!
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So how do you ice your hands and feet? my neuropathy is bad.
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tina_marie, I think there are special freezable gloves, etc. you can buy, but I have just brought ice packs, frozen peas, bags of ice cubes, whatever is cold! And then put them under my hands and feet and swap them out when they stop seeming cold enough. I got neuropathy symptoms right away but didn’t start icing until #4 and it seems to have at least kept it from getting worse.
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