Weekly Taxol group
Comments
-
Happy Friday Eve! Been a while since I posted. Been busy. Today, was 8 of 12 of Taxol and Herceptin. WOO HOO! Then only Herceptin every 3 wks for 30 min!
HopeBry-with ya on the hot flashes. I have hot flashes from HELL at night! Told the nurse at chemo today. Said I can take OTC medicine for menopause as long as it doesn’t have any estrogen and other hormonal stuff in it. NO period since Jan, that could be from chemo or I’m starting menopause. Will see DR next week and will talk to her. Not getting a lot of sleep at night. Although the next day after chemo, I can paint the house, LOL!
Casual-I’ve always been constipated so chemo made it worse. So DR told me to start on Mirilax. Sometimes when it hits it’s awful. Haven’t popped in 2 days. Thought about dropping that and start on benefiber! Thoughts, anyone?
McBaker-I was doing the smoothies too with the healthy stuff, Kale, broccoli, spinach etc! Think I’m just gonna eat it in salads. Bloodwork for RBC, HGB, and one more Is still up and down. Numbers dropped this week, and I have put on a few pounds and I can’t stand it. We are in monsoon season in NC, rain , rain! We’ve got to get outside and walk or ride bikes. But our weather sucks.
Well I’ve rambled enough! All in all I’m great. NO other SE! Oh, hair-it’s there but shedding like a tree in the fall. I have to dust bust every morning. I’d rather cut it, but I can hide thin spots with hair. But, no biggy. It’ll come back!
Y’all take care! Stay safe and stay strong👊! We got this!
0 -
Gigi--re: constipation, I tend to run the other way but I know several women have posted about Smooth Move tea (Traditional Medicinals, I think). It might be in the "can't hurt" category? And I definitely gained weight while on Taxol. Had a strong sugar craving and decided to treat myself throughout the 12 weeks. I'm not usually a big ice cream person but I was eating it every day. The cravings will die down after you're finished. Keep up with your protein. I really pushed it and my bloodwork was great throughout.
I'm off to Herceptin this morning. Four more after today. :-)
0 -
Gigi - For constipation I take a pill called Senna Laxative. It is laxative and stool softener combined and one a day keeps me balanced without pushing it to the other side.
0 -
thanks for all the info on constipation, not used to being constipated & it sucks. Was feeling good, but last night & tonight I feel pretty used up. I was going out to a ball & dinner, but the thought of getting all dressed up is too much right now.
I hope all are having a nice evening
0 -
Hi, Countca,
I am on 5/12 Taxol treatments and my facility gives me cold mits and slippers. You can buy them on Amazon on your own. I wear fuzzy socks and gloves with my cold mitts because they are really cold, and I usually have to slip my hands out because I’m doing Cold Caps to save my hair and those get changed every 25 minutes. But in my experience,they do use cold mitts with Tax
0 -
Congratulations Nanette. It must feel so wonderful to finish.
MarnieMay-thank you for telling me your experience with the sheath. I was reading a lot of stories about needing port replacement. It’s good to know that the injection worked for you. They used that last week on me. Thankfully, the port drew blood fine today.
Treatment 4 is done, 1/3 of the way through. I’m having very few SEs. I even got my period on time this week. The steroid causes insomnia but I try not to take the Lunesta the MO prescribed unless I have to. I tried the ice packs on my hands and feet again but could only keep them on a short time. I’m just too cold with the Dignicap too.
My stomach is hurting less. My biggest issue is that I’ve gone back to work. I have my treatments Fridays and start the steroid crash on my busiest days Monday and Tuesday. After work, I hurt all over. My work isn’t physical at all, so that surprised me. Fortunately, I am able to work from home a few days a week.
Having this illness and being forced to take a month off for surgery made me realize how stressed I was with work. I was having heart palpitations and migraines all the time. The palpitations completely went away and I’ve only had two migraines in nearly 3 months. Silver lining I guess.
Another silver lining is all of you. It makes it so much easier to hear from others going through the same experience. Thank you all.
0 -
I just started # ten. Dr gave approval for dry sauna in five weeks, to purge the poisons after they have done their work. Still don't have someone to clean house thoroughly. Just woke up from post-infusion nap. so bright and cheery and energetic.
0 -
5th Taxol down. The process moving like a turtle. Want it to be over. The hot flashes affecting my sleep. Cant get comfortable.
Nannett- I envy you! congrats
McBaker - I feel you on not able to have someone to help clean. My husband works all day and gets home 11pm running his gym complaining hes tired, Im like your tired?. Some men just dont get what we moms go through. Moms cant get sick, nothing gets done. No ones going to clean your home like you do. I still get what little strength I have to sweep and cook for my child. I cook sitting on a stool at the stove. My mom comes to stay sometimes but I can only take a few days of her until we are arguing and then I feel she needs to go. Love you mom. I have some good friends though. One came to sweep and she did my dishes and brought me soup. Two friends offer to take my kid for the day so I can rest. True friends. Thats Love.
0 -
With permission from my medical team, after not taking my steroids the night before chemo and lowering my IV steroid dose, I had a reaction to the Taxol last night. Red face, chest rash, chills and fever of 101 for a few hours.
This morning everything is back to normal. (Whatever "normal" is these days.). Anyway no fever, no rash or redness.
The kicker is I actually feel better than the past few weekends, leaving me to suspect some of the exhaustion I’ve been feelingmay have been due to the steroid crash as much as the chemo poison. Despite a poor nights rest due to chills and fever, I'm still less tired than I have been before.
So maybe we lowered the steroid dose too much, but can still not go full dose? Maybe lower the steroids but up the Benadryl? Benadryl wears off more quickly.
I haven't discussed this with my medical team yet. They usually call Saturday afternoon to check in. If we don't connect today for some reason I'll call them Monday.0 -
Hey there, reading up on this group since this will be my next step after 3 more bi-monthly AC's. I'm trying to plan the next couple of months due to work, and was hoping you can tell me if anyone is taking Taxol in pill form or if you are all doing infusion? Also, since I am taking AC every other week, would I likely start Taxol 2 weeks after my last AC or would I start the week after? TIA, and sending positive vibes to you all.
0 -
hi notdefined and welcome. Taxol only comes in iv therapy due to the process of how it's made.
This trip has been a little different for each of us but yet still the same. Our SE's bind us together? Odd to say but you'll Learn a lot here and I'm sure you'll offer just as much to the others in their taxol journey. Good luck to you
0 -
Thank you Nanette7fl. For some reason I thought my MO mentioned a pill for the second phase, but to be honest I wasn't fully present during that appointment.
0 -
Notdefined, the pill for the second phase might be the one mentioned at the end of my signature if you are HER2+. It is the only oral med for HER2+.
If your growth tested positive for hormone receptors, there are bunches of different pills which address that.
0 -
There is an organization called Cleaning for a Reason that offers free cleaning services for those undergoing chemo treatments. They have a Facebook page and website where you can search for participating maid services in your area.
0 -
Thank you MCBaker. Unfortunately, I am triple negative. I must of misunderstood. I appreciate all the feedback. In vain, I was trying to plan a trip during what would be dose 6, and see if I could get treatment in So. Cal, but my insurance isn't covered there, so I will need to cancel.
0 -
notdefined, that is unfortunate. Chemo is all you have, barring miracles and new developments. I know what a jolt it is. My first scream was "But this interferes with all my plans. I have other things I need to be doing." A lesson in control. Bargaining eases the journey, but it becomes counterproductive.
0 -
notdefined - I am triple negative as well. I got the 4 AC "red devil" (the worst ever) chemo every 2 weeks. I almost quit by the 4th one but I pushed through. After the 4th dose, 2 weeks later they started me on weekly Taxol. Which has its own side effects but not as bad as AC so good luck. Everyone is different on how their body reacts.
0 -
Thank you HopeBry. Good to know for scheduling purposes. I will be doing No. 2 of 4 AC treatments this Thurs. Then I will do 12 weeks of Taxol. I will join this group when they start. Going through all of these posts helps calm the controlling part of me that wants to plan every second of my life
!0 -
Tomorrow I go in for #7 of 12. The Taxol is doing a number on my bone marrow and my blood work is consistently low so every week I have to go back in for the Neutraphil (sp?) shots. For a couple weeks I got three but the last two times we have done two and I’ve recovered enough to do treatment. Problem is not only am I tired ALL the time but my body aches nonstop. Is anyone’s else’s getting regular shots? I’m having the regular other SE with my bleeding nose and yucky mouth and post steroid red face. Ive been icing my hand so and feet but I still have some numbness. But it’s the body aches that are really wearing me down. The only thing that I hang onto is the timers are almost gone to the touch and only six more treatments
0 -
Lizzie.. you're nearing the home stretch and this is the hardest part because taxol is draining oh so draining on out bodies. Tiredness was my almost constant companion the last 4 weeks. I did get to skip week 9 as my neuropathy in my hands, feet and mouth got more noticeable... I had my last 2 treatments reduced slightly to attempt to "help" yet still treat the cancer. What my MO told me the last few weeks was to rest/sleep as often and as long as I could when I could to try and facilitate my body to heal.
Sending you ((hugs)) and prayers
0 -
Lizzie--not sure if this will help but I *really* pushed the protein through Taxol. Ate red meat 5-6 times a week and had a protein shake every day. In fact, the Herceptin only had been making me feel pretty crappy and I got it in my head that I needed more protein in my diet (I had cut way back). The last two treatments I've had red meat the two nights before and for whatever reason I've felt much better. Might be worth a try. . .
0 -
Ingerp - I've seen others make the red meat / protein observation. I think I need to try that as I have very little meat in my diet currently and my numbers took a bit of a dive last week.
Question for those experiencing neuropathy symptoms - when did you start noticing them (what chemo session)?
Also did you have nail bed pain and was it linked to the onset of neuropathy or do you think it was separate.
I just finished session #4. No numbness yet (am icing) but my thumbnails in particular feel like I hit them with a hammer! It was more intense post chemo days 1 & 2 and seems to be easing a bit, but dang it hurts!
0 -
Nail bed pain is linked to scalp pain, although a bit later. Neuropathy-- I would say about three. I eat a lot of eggs, cheese, and beans. Whey protein powder, pureed tofu in my smoothies along with greek yogurt. A bit of hamburger and chicken, sometimes fish. But I did get some liver last week, and intend on eating some weekly. Onco says to stay away from chicken liver..
0 -
I would second Ingerp's observation... I craved proteins during chemo and I am lucky enough to have excellent sources of home raised young red meat (lamb and calf) as well as eggs. Eggs in particular were my source of protein and red meat about 3-4 times a week. My blood work was OK during the whole 12 weeks of Taxol.
0 -
After my very first treatment I told my oncologist that I had very slight tingling in my toes. He said we'll nip that in the bud. He told me to take 500-1000mg of B12 daily. Hope this is helpful. I've only had 2 treatments so far, wish I was a far along as you girls.
0 -
I noticed your note about that the other day, did some research. A bit late, but later is better than never.
0 -
I go in tomorrow for Taxol number 8 out of 12. The bloody nose in the morning is getting old, but at least it doesn’t go on all day. My mouth is coated with mucus making everything taste bad. Not much neuropathy yet so I’m hoping it stays away. The red face is usually just the day after, but now I have a red rash on my arms. I’m not eating much meat & my husband keeps making me eat eggs which I’m not fond of. Meat other than pork has no appeal to me anymore.
I am tired a lot, almost passed out today at a thrift store. I recovered quickly, but it was an eye opener! The good thing has been that my blood numbers have been really good each week. I just keep waiting for the shoe to drop.
Dori
0 -
Oh yeah--I also had a scrambled egg every day at lunch. And my blood work did stay really good throughout--my MO said I was the only patient she'd see who was actually making blood through chemo. Re: neuropathy--I think I only noticed it a bit starting about half-way through. Just a few areas on the bottom of my feet (which, BTW, I still have--wondering when it'll all go away?)--nothing in my hands. I did not ice but kept myself pretty cool when I was getting tx--wore sandals, and didn't take any blankets or warming things that were offered. My nail beds never really hurt but the nails definitely got a little funky and seemed to change shape--like they were more rounded. Fingernails are all fine now except one thumbnail. My big toenails are still having issues (I'm almost seven months PFC). Pommom--it sounds like you're doing *great*--except for that passing out thing! Is there any kind of meat that appeals to you? Cheeseburger from McDonald's? My husband buys beef tenderloins at Costco, cuts them up into individual portions and freezes them. We ate a lot of that, along with a lot of meatloaf.
0 -
interp, i would love a nice juicy rare filet mignon, however I’m afraid it would ruin my taste for them! I’m in the chair now awaiting lab results before they start #8.
So far no nail problems, so hope it stays that way. My biggest problem is with my mouth, I really hate that.
Not much of a hamburger fan, favorite is Five Guys, but the last one I had didn’t taste so great. I can eat a Mcdonald’s, but I hate American cheese. I don’t care if I lose the taste for Micky D’s. 😆 Maybe I need to make spaghetti again. It’s funny, but tomato based things like soup & Italian sauces are fine, no bad flavor. I can’t eat a lot because of my gerds, but so far, so good,
I didn’t have anymore problem with passing out yesterday. I think I just overtaxed myself with too much walking. Got home, parked myself with the dog & Turner Classic Movies!
Doris
Have as good a day as you can
0 -
Just got the word my numbers are good, so treatment # 8 will begin shortly
0
