Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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Patin, I just let out a little sigh of relief to read that you have not had other scans either. I have questioned my MO about it twice now and she says that she does not do them unless you are symptomatic. I get treated at a NCI center so I try to trust in that, but since my mom passed from bc mets I will always worry!
Looking forward to hearing about those of you who are finishing up radiation experience.
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Adagio: I do get the Nuelasta shot day after each AC treatment. My MO said I should not need the shot during Taxol. I will be taking the B vits and L-glutamine for sure. What kind of SE's did you experience on Taxol. I am dose dense 4x, every other week. I sure hope it is easier. AC is tough! Thanks for sharing!
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ywheels - my side effects on taxol were very achey muscles and knees and I felt like my legs weighed a ton!! I also got tingliness in my face and tongue, my finger nails were excruciatingly painful after the first 2 treatments but were fine after the last 2 treatments. The aches were for the first week only, then the second week was fine. Overall, definitely better than AC.
I don't understand why some MO's prescribe neulasta while taking taxol and some don't!! My blood counts have been excellent and I would have been fine not taking it, but I bowed to the better judgment of my MO and took it anyway. I have never been sick at all during the chemo journey, so for that I am most grateful!
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I'm a little bit nervous this morning. I am seeing the surgeon in a few hours. My mass has shrunk significantly and my oncologist thinks a lumpectomy could be done. When I started this, I was ok with the thought of a mastectomy - I just want cancer gone. I'm still ok with whatevever has to happen, but I'm sure nervous. We will be scheduling surgery for mid to late April - after I finish my Taxol.
I'm worried alot about the lymph nodes. I'm prepared for a sentinel lymph node to be gone, but I don't want any others removed. I'm a triathlete and very concerned about lymphedema. Swimming would be very difficult.
Please keep me in your prayers. I just need to stay strong.
Solteria205 - Paula, I hope you're feeling ok. I thought about you this weekend.
Thanks, Georgetta
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Georgetta~Thanks for your prayers. I'll be praying for you today as well.
My weekend was fine, except I'm more tired than usual. With AC the fatigue was more physical. Just no energy to do anything, but with taxol, I seem to be sleeping more, which is ok.
Be blessed
Paula0 -
Georgetta: praying for you. Yes, get the cancer gone!!! Good luck! For me surgery was easier (I had BMX/Recon then started chemo 3 weeks post op, AC x4 then Taxol x4) than chemo so you got through chemo, you'll be fine with surgery, whatever you opt to have. Take care!
Paula: The AC is a very physical tired, you are right. I have #3 Wednesday and I know it will be a bit harder but I have good pain meds and I plan on taking them. I have to say, so far Taxol sounds like a breeze compared to AC, from what most of you are saying. I am praying is the same for me. Hope you get plenty of zzzz's!!!! They are good!!!
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ywheels22~Be sure to set aside extra time for yourself for AC 3. The SEs aren't new. They are just more intense and last a little longer, but with AC 4 I found fatigue & dead skunk tastebuds to be the only SEs.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Georgetta,
If it gives you some hope I had full range of motion two days post mastecomy. I had 17 nodes removed in my right underarm. I will always worry about the big L, but I go on living too. I have an 18 month who I still pick up and carry, I excerise (when I have the energy) and fully plan to return to swimming when the weather breaks. I did have some cording, but the pain came with major streching. I did some PT and most of it resolved. If you can find a PT that specializes in breast cancer care I would seek them out. If you can't find someone in the Dayton area it my be worth doing a consult at OSU. These ladies are wonderful. The one I worked with was a survivor herself.
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politicomama, thanks for the kind words. Saw the surgeon today and he said we are doing a lumpectomy. Scheduled on Apr 22, after my last taxol.
Feel relieved.0 -
Thanks to those who responded about the radiation - that is very helpful. Today I am feeling pretty crappy - the taxol and neulasta combination has made me so achey and blah!! Hope I feel better for the CT imaging tomorrow morning.
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Imaging went fine in prep for radiation. I was a bit uncomfortable with the overhead arm holding but they brought a popcorn mould and made it fit exactly around my shoulders and upper arms which made it more tolerable. The scan is off to the RO now and I guess they will let me know when the rads start - I'd like to wait at least 3 weeks after my last chemo just to give my body time to recuperate a bit. Today I am feeling much less achey!! I talked about the heart area to the radiation therapists but they seemed pretty confident that it would be out of the way with the special breathing they got me to do.
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I know this has been posted before so I apologize for asking again. In regards to TAxol. How much B12 and when and how much L-Glutamine and when? Thanks so much!!
AC #3 this morning. Here I go!
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Ywheels, here's what I was told:
B6 - 100 mg per day.
Glutamine - 30 grams per day (15 grams 2x per day). Get powder, not capsules, because the capsules are only 500 mg and you'd need to take 60 of them per day to get to 30 grams. Mix the powder in whatever you like. it doesn't really dissolve so it remains gritty.
I took the B6 every day. I took the glutamine the day of treatment and the following three days, but if my tingling had continued beyond that I would have continued taking it.
I didn't start with the B6 and glutamine until I started getting a bit of neuropathy (about week 3 of taxol). It seemed to work for me.
Good luck!0 -
I am noticing an accelerating weight gain on Taxol and I'm wondering if it's just me or if this is common? I gained 5 lbs during the 8 weeks of AC (no doubt from eating many small meals/day for a lot of those 8 weeks to try to keep up with the nausea). I am now back to 3 reasonably portioned meals/day and lately I have been increasing my exercise ~ thank God for increased energy!!! I am disheartened to see that I've gained about 3 pounds in the last two weeks. Yikes!! I am going to have to start restricting calories soon because it is super hard for me to loose weight so my only hope is not to put it on.
Has anyone else noticed accelerating weight gain on Taxol??
Thanks!
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Hi Waiting...
I finished my 12 weekly taxols at the end of August. My hair did start growing back in patches during the treatment. It wasn't a complete head of hair until around November. It is now about three inches long. Who knew that I would be so happy to see hair!
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Hello everyone! Has anyone been treated with Cytoxin alone?
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Nicole 503 - I think weight gain on taxol is pretty common. I gained a good 12-14 pounds, unfortunately. I craved carbs, which undoubtedly contributed, but many people attribute the weight gain to the steroids. Since I finished chemo on 12/7 I have lost a pound or two, but have a lot more to lose. Why is it so much easier to gain weight than to lose it?????
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I gained on taxol as well. steroids i guess and water retention.
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I'm hoping its the steroids and that it will stop when they do but yes, I've gained weight on Taxol. Some days aren't so bad but some days it feels like I want to eat everything in sight and I don't get full, or satisfied.
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I put on about 6 to 8 pounds the first five weeks. Then I got the stomach flu that lingered and lost it..... I feel like I am hungry all of the time. I met with a nutritionist last week (as overall I need to drop about 50 to 60, I never lost the baby weight from 12 months prior to diagnosis) she recommended five to six small meals a day. High in fruits and vegetables and whole grains. She recommended a small protien with each to help feel fuller longer. Most of it was common sense, but damn those girl scout cookies!
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Pat: Thank you very much. I will start that as soon as I am done with AC. One more to go!
Weight gain??? Ugh! Hadn't heard that one. I have lost weight on AC about 3-5 lbs. I have been able to exercise on my off weeks. I go to the gym, do spin and did train with my personal trainer yesterday. I figured if I can do some of this during AC, hoping I can do more during Taxol. Good luck all!
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46 and single - I haven't heard of anyone getting only cytoxan. It seems to be combined with a taxane (taxol or taxotere) or with adriamycin, from what I've seen on these boards.
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Nicole, Is Decadron one of your pre-meds? Steroids can accelerate weight gain. I gained back a few pounds on the 12/taxol regime, lost 10+ on A/C.
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Hi rc1,
I finished taxol in late February. If my hair grows like yours, hopefully I will have a whole filled in head by May. Something to look forward to. I can't stand the waiting.
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waitingforthenextstep- did your hair start to grow back during taxol??
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My hair started to grow back at the end of taxol. It seems to grow in and start to fill in. It just seems to get more covering and not that much longer. I can almost find a hairline at 4 weeks post chemo. So hair is in sight. Keep plugging girls!!!!
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Paula how are you? Hope you are feeling ok after first treatment.
Taxol #6 this morning. They cut my Benedryl in half today but still had restless legs. I really haven't felt very good since last treatment. More fatigue and aches. I worked from home on Friday and went into work Monday - Wednesday. Very tired and achey when I got home.
Hair is still growing but still more like fuzz. Lashes and brows have stopped falling out. Brows are starting to grow back -- small white hair.
Asked NP why wait 4-6 weeks for fads. She said body has to have time to recover before anything else is done.
Congrats to those finishing up. I can't wait until it's me.0 -
My wife completed Taxol #5 today. She's having a tough time getting to sleep. Anyone know anything about Z-Quil?
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Colt45, it's the steroid in the pre-meds that makes it very hard to fall asleep. After my first couple of infusions I asked and my oncologist agreed to cut the steroid dose in half - after that I was able to sleep much better. I never took anything to help me sleep, but maybe others on this board can chime in about that. I hope your wife is doing fine other than the sleep issue.
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Colt45 ~ I just started Taxol (today was my second dose) and I had a hugely hard time falling asleep for the first 10 days after my first treatment. The first few days were the steroid issue that PatinMN mentioned (I was familiar with this from the rounds of AC I had prior to Taxol).
The next 7 days or so felt really different. My experience was that as I got to that stage where thoughts were starting to dissociate and I was at the brink of losing consciousness, all of a sudden I became aware of leg discomfort. Not quite restless leg syndrome but definitely uncomfortable enough to prevent sleep.
I take Ativan on the nights that I am experiencing the steroids and I continued taking it for about 5 more days after trying for at least an hour to fall asleep and failing. Usually I'm asleep within 15 -20 minutes of laying down. It definitely seemed to help. I discussed this today with my oncologist and she recommended using Ativan as long as needed. Yes, it can be habit forming but having good sleep is so important that the benefits outweigh the risk (her opinion). Since I work and am parenting 3 girls, I don't have a lot of latitude for long daytime naps so I'm taking her advice and planning to take the ativan for the first 7 days of this cycle. (I'm doing the dose dense schedule where I get Taxol every two weeks).
I hope your wife finds something that works. Not being able to fall asleep is maddening!
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