Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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loiswb - my Thursday treatment will also be rescheduled. Not sure yet if it will be earlier in the week or if I will skip the week.
Dawn - I hear you about the sinus issues. I am not sure if mine is seasonal allergies, SE or a combination. I am using sudafed to decongest (which helps the headache) and a saline spray to moisturize the nasal passages. I may add in Claritin.
I am ok if hair and eyebrows just thin out. I have thick hair. You ladies give me hope! :
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I had Taxol#8 Friday. It was pretty unremarkable but I've noticed this morning the numbness in my right toes has intensified and I'm getting some numbness in my left toes. I've had my usual intestinal distress this morning and my chemo cheeks that give me a nice healthy glow every Saturday are gone.
I didn't sleep well last night which is unusual. I normally experience that on Friday nights from the steroid. I'm hoping today is a good day and all the dads out there enjoy.
Only 4 more Taxol to go!
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Home stretch, Dawn! I remember around where you are it still seemed like a while until the end but at #9 or three weeks left it really felt like the end was in sight. Are you planning anything to celebrate the end of chemo?
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Ingerp, I'll be thrilled when Taxol is over. My plan was to ring the bell 7/12. Both my daughters took off work to join me but now MO is talking about putting me on Kadcyla after surgery which is also chemo (mixed with Herceptin). My tumor has shrunk almost 50% but there's still something there that could be "live" according to MO.
We won't know anything until surgery so I'm sort of in limbo now. I was told by my nurse navigator I would be able to see the mass disappear by the physical changes in my breast. I've seen changes but it looks worse than when this all started. I had a small indentation right of my nipple. It's gotten deeper and I can see a lump above my nipple now which wasn't visible before. I'm small breasted so I'm sure that's a contributing factor.
Can I ask since your mass was so large, what your experience was like?
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DawnS1962-are you icing at home too? Are you also taking the Lglutamine and B vitamins? I read on this board that some people are doing that to address the neuropathy. Hopefully, the numbness subsides. Yay to only 4 more!
I have 4 left too! Mine #8 was also uneventful, and although a little fatigued and moving very slowly I feel good. My taste buds have been impacted yesterday and today, and I think the body aches for me come around Monday and Tuesday. I have about 5 upper eyelashes on each eyelid left. This is worse than losing the hair. Oh well I guess that is just a part of this ride.
I am focusing on my surgery date now. I hear I have lovely drains to look forward to.
Hope everyone is able to enjoy the day with minimal SE's!
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Dawn if you’re talking about my 2016 DCIS—yes, it was quite a chunk. He took out 8cm x 6cm x 3.3cm. I have what my BS referred to as a “shark bite” out of the outside of my left breast, but it’s a little below the sight line and honestly I don’t think about it anymore. My RO asked me before the surgery if I was thinking about any kind of reconstruction. I asked if anybody would be able to tell when I had clothes on, she said no (which is true), and I never considered it.
And just re: ringing the bell, I’m sure the potential delay must make you sa. I asked what women did after chemo when they’re still in active treatment and was told some women only ring after chemo, some wait until they’re done done, and some ring it twice (or would it be three times for you?). Go with whatever feels right and certainly celebrate if that’s what you feel like doing.
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Today has been incredible. On 4.5 hrs sleep, I made bagels from scratch this morning and grilled for 10 people this afternoon. Hubby made me a lemon meringue pie, hoping I could taste it and I did!
Everyone did cleanup for me and my toes are no longer numb. I don't know if it's from being on my feet for so long today but I have pins and needles in my right toes and left are feeling normal for now.
Hubby and I are watching Murder Mystery on Netflix and I'm hoping not to fall asleep. I'm tired but not exhausted. Just hoping I don't have a huge crash tomorrow.
Now if only the hair on my head would grow as fast as the hair on my chin.😜
So thankful for a normal feeling day!
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Ingerp, I won't ring the bell before surgery. I'm afraid I would jinx myself.
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Dawn- that's very frustrating and I'm sorry you have to wait till after surgery!!
For neuropathy.... if your getting it as much as you are, even if it goes away after a day make sure to mention it to your MO maybe they can decrease your dosing or give you something to cover the neuropathy not that another med is fun.
Hope everyone is doing good!!
~Katie💗
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Katie, I'm trying to just roll with the punches. There isn't anything I can do to change things and I'm trying to accept that. I told my daughters today I'll buy a bell and ring it on the deck if no live cancer cells are found😊
I'm taking some blame for the neuropathy. I've iced my hands but never my feet. I'm going to start Fri. MO knows and has now changed my visits with him to every 2 weeks instead of 3 to monitor. My Oncology nurse said he may lower the dose and there's also medicine i can take.
I hope you're doing well🤗
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Dawn, glad you had a good day. I have a little more tingling/slight numbness in my thumbs and big toes today. I haven't had much at all for the last several weeks. Usually it does improve within a couple days though. Bummer about the potentially more chemo/bell. Your attitude sounds great though. Hope everyone had a good Father's Day and a good start to the week tomorrow.
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DawnS1962-So glad you had a good day! I'm impressed by what you accomplished!
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Dawn - I'm glad you had a good day. As far as the bell goes, I wonder if we should wait until the big reveal. We are all doing things under adversity, some days just getting out of bed is an accomplishment. Maybe we need to keep a bell by our side to celebrate the little things.
I hope everyone had a good weekend! My third chemo day ended up being much better than last week. Yay, little victories
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I didn't get up till 9 today but didn't get to sleep till 1230, which is late for me even precancer. I'm tired but still nowhere near the exhaustion I felt last Monday.
Weirdest thing is my right toes are much better. A little tingling in the 2 smallest ones but the numbness is gone. I drank a ton of water yesterday. I normally drink a lot of water but between the heat and grilling, I couldn't get enough. I had to have at least 100 oz. Also some sparking Italian water just to mix it up a little 😋
I didn't spend all night in the bathroom either. Very odd but nice change.
I hope you're all having a good start to the week🤗
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I was wondering if there is a correlation with water intake and the neuropathy. Mine comes and goes too. I am not nearly as bad as I was last Monday with fatigue as well, although the day is early.
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notdefined, I'm thinking there may be some connection. MO asked how my fingers were. They had started pruning but no numbness. They looked like they'd been soaking. Everything I looked up on Dr Google pointed to dehydration which was impossible. I've been drinking at least 8 cups a day. Today the pruning is gone too. I'm just going to continue the increase and hope it's helping.
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I did lose all my eyebrows on taxol (& I sucked at drawing them on so it's a good thing I wear glasses because that sort of camouflaged the fact that I had no brows.) They grew back in gradually; it took about 6 months till they were more like what I remember having before. I haven't plucked anything yet. A beautician would probably want to shape them but I'm just leaving them alone right now.
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I have just started my 12 weeks of Taxol. Had my first dose last Thursday. The side effects were minimal. Hoping the next 11 weeks will be the same. I'm hoping to hang on to what little bit of eyebrows I have left. Besides the original diagnosis of breast cancer the hair loss has been the hardest for me. Trying to stay positive.
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hey girls. I was wondering what is everyone dosage right now on taxol? I think my mom is on 80. Not sure of the normal dosage people are getting
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To the ladies that already had lumpectomy. It is more comfortable with or without bra during recovery period if the cup size is B, therefore not too big. What type of bra doyou recommend?
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Margun - I'm a B and I had a lumpectomy. I did prefer to have something on. In the early days esp. the less movement and jiggling, the better. Plus it let me have some place to shove an icepack and hold it.
I had a couple very inexpensive sports bras from Walmart. Mine were just over the head ones because I figured I might as well get in my arm stretches for post sentinel lymph node biopsy recovery. I got one that was a bit large - in the sense that it would have been useless for exercise because it allowed too much movement. For me that was a M. Softest fabric I could find and soft cups, kind of a cami bra design. I'd link to it but I can't find it online. Mine has the straps split into 3 sets of thin straps on each side in the back and they criss cross to make a pretty design in the back. It comes in a bunch of colors. It was cheap enough that I didn't care if I bled on it (& I did the first day) and if I over stretched it with icepacks. I wore the first ones 24/7 for about 4 weeks, then stopped wearing it at night and just wore in the day. Later I wore them during rads and because I didn't care about wrecking them, I got them all goopy with the creams and lotions.
So my advice is go soft, providing just a bit of adjustable support, and go cheap.0 -
Hi I am new to posting on these forums so I apologize if I’m not doing this correctly as I’m just replying to another post. I couldn’t see where I could just post my own question.I am currently in round three of an ACT chemotherapy regimen and I’m starting to research taxol. My oncologist assured me that taxol will be easier than AC however after reading about all the side effects of Taxol it doesn’t seem like it will be easier. Can anyone help explain what makes taxol easier than AC? I would love any advice as I like to try to be as prepared as I can for these treatments.I will be having weekly Taxol infusions.Thank you for any wisdom!
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moth- thanks for your reply. I thought that overhead ones will be more difficult to wear but if you are saying it is feasible it is reassuring. The thing is that I am getting lumpectomy for one breast and reduction for the other to make them the same size. Now I am 42ddd. When trying find a sport bra sizes were 1X , 2X and 3x. It was difficult to decide which one could fit after surgery because after surgery I will be B. I guess I have to buy by considering the band periphery 42? Thanks for advi
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ucf--my understanding is dosage is actually based on an estimate of skin area. That's why they measure and weigh before every one.
Margun--I agree with the soft overhead ones. I bought a couple of front-close bras for one of my surgeries but ended up giving them away. For me it was harder to get that thing on and zipped up than throwing something over my head. I think I was told to wear it 24 hours a day for the first week, but I got a little tired of it after about 5-6 days (and wasn't having any pain) so ditched it at night at that point.
Tj--I did not have AC but in general the comments I read are that Taxol is gentler, and some women start re-growing hair on Taxol.
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Welcome acarpenter- there are a couple of us who are on Thursday treatments. My third will be this Thursday. The first one went well until Saturday and I started getting a headache. That Sunday I felt like I had the flu. I have had some nausea off and since then but this past weekend was much better than the first one. I hope your side effects remain minimal.
After my lumpectomy, I got three soft bras. In large, XL and XXL. I would normally wear a medium. I wore the smaller one initially but developed a seroma in my armpit that needed more accommodation so now wear the XL to work and either the XXL or nothing at home
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Tjreefs- I think everyone is a little different. The first thing is knowing if you will have an allergic reaction to Taxol. They give you an antihistamine with it, but it is tree based which causes some to have a reaction. You will find out your tolerance on your first 2 treatments.
Also, it depends on what your medication regimen is. Taxol 1 and 2, I took the steroid, a Zyrtec, and a Pepcid. When I didn't have a reaction, they took me off of the steroid. These meds allowed me to be fully functional after the treatment. Others take the steroid and Benadryl for all 12. I think the Benadryl makes you tired the day of. Also others are on anti-nausea meds the whole time which I think makes you more tired throughout the treatment.
I haven't needed any anti-nausea meds, and the side effects have been a lot less than being on AC. TBH, I was on anti-nausea meds for the first 3 days after AC, and I was extremely fatigued and non functional. Taxol allows me to have more quality days.
As each week passes, the fatigue gets a little worse. I also get body aches. Some others talked about stomach destress, neuropathy, and taste buds being off. I think the thing about Taxol is the effects are cumulative so as each week passes it gets just a little harder. I have 4 left to go, but I feel okay.
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Welcome acarpenter. My sessions are on Thursday too. I have lost patches of my eyebrows, and they were full during AC. I agree with the hair comment. It is rough looking in the mirror without eyebrows.
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I got through most of the the Taxol with very few problems. But after #8 my feet & fingers started to act up. I wound up with pretty bad neuropathy of the feet. It’s been since March 27 since my last Taxol & my feet are really bad. Very numb, sharp pains with the feeling of walking on marbles. It’s really miserable & can take 1 to 3 years to heal!
Sometimes I wonder if the cure is worse than the disease!
Doris
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Taxol have been so much easier than the AC. I am only on #6 of 12, but so far just being tired is my only side effect, I have been feeling pretty good.
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Welcome acarpenter I believe you posted just fine! The AC causes more nausea and also more likely to lower blood counts, etc. Most worrisome with Taxol is risk of neuropathy, as someone has mentioned. The fatigue is cumulative, I have just 2 to go of my 12, and the last 2-3 weeks the fatigue is fairly extreme, though I am able to go to work and do some exercise, etc. Most people don't have nearly as much nausea with the Taxol. I am one of the people whose center gives the Benadryl and steroids every week, so the first day I am tired/sleepy due to the Benadryl,(and don't drive, though I have attended a few activities a couple of the weeks, most of the time I lay low that first evening) and then on Sat/Sun there is a bit of a let down when the steroids wear off. I get muscle aches and fatigue, but they are generally very manageable with Tylenol/Advil and the Claritin. (my treatment is also on Thursdays, just finished #10!) Research icing for neuropathy prevention, and you can do that if you choose if you're not already. Welcome
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