Weekly Taxol group
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Lpreston- congratulations with being done with chemo!! My legs felt worse about 2.5 weeks after my last to the point I fell. My MD determined after testing including a CT scan it was related to neuropathy. The pain thankfully only lasted a couple more weeks after that. I hope your discomfort passes quickly!
I hope everyone is having a good week and keep up the fight to kick cancer's ass !!🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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Hi all!
I am feeling close to normal at nearly 7 weeks PFC. I met with my PS and ON today, and they were both very pleased with my progress. I am on maintenance mode with ON and will see him in 3 months. I find it interesting that they do not intend to do any scans. Anyway, I asked if I need to adhere to any nutritional guidelines, and he said for me to just keep doing what I am doing. I will be doing more than that, but now feel like I am on my own.
Eyebrows and Eyelashes are halfway grown in. Hair is finally sprouting, and surprisingly it is not all white hair. I may loose the wig when my scalp is no longer visible. Still the smallest of neuropathy in my thumb tips. Fingernails look normal. Energy is hard to gauge with surgery being done.
Hope you are all doing well. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but there is a light at the end of the taxol tunnel.
Take care.
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Good morning all,
I can honestly tell you 3 days after infusions of Taxol, Carpoplatin, and Atez/palcebo I was ready to throw in towel. This was worst post infusion side effects I have had. I couldn't get out of my own way. Sooo tired, emotional, achy. Stayed in jammies all day and watched movies. So unlike me. So Labor Day sucked for me. But, Tuesday and today back to almost normal self. Taxol rash has spread to my scalp. Results of leg biopsy today, and stitches out .More blood work to prepare for Friday infusion again. Only Taxol this week. Watched good movie "greenbook". Hope everyone is hanging in there. I'm much more upbeat and more energy. Marta
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Hi DogMomRunner! How are you?
Lpreston, I have three more TC left, so don't have any advice. I hope you feel better soon.
Hey ipenelope! I saw your photo on the post chemo hair thread. Your hair is cute and really suits you. You are so kind and encouraging and take great care of us, but never say how you are doing. So, how are you?
What's up, notdefined? It's good to hear from you! Sounds like you are healing well. I'm a little jealous of your lashes and brows. 😉 How are your kids? Have they started school?
Martaj, sorry about your SE. I'm glad that you're feeling better. Thanks for the movie recommendations. I'll check them out. My last TC and Neulasta took a toll on me, too, and on the same days as you.
I don't have chemo this week. Yay! I meet with my PS on Monday. Chemo resumes on the 13th.
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Hi All,
I've completed 11 sessions of Taxol & Herpectin. I will not complete the last session as the drug has truly effected my fingertips. At this moment I am dealing with yet another nail infection. I just started antibiotics again and my nail looks like it's about to explode. I have no idea as to how I got these nail infections. My nails look horrible. The infected nail looks like it's about to pop out of the socket. It's extremely painful. I'm now soaking the nail 3 times a day and on day 3 the infection starting oozing out of the nail. It's pretty gross. The nail is loose due to the swelling and I'm not sure if it'll fall off. I have a bandage on to keep the nail from oozing all over my keyboard. All of my nails are tingly, numb and extremely sensitive to touch. I have to use gloves for everything including taking a shower. I hope these feelings go away soon. Any suggestions
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Hello all,
So it took me 14 weeks but I’m happy to say I had #12 on Tuesday and I’m done with the taxol. So far today I’m feeling good but I assume when the steroids wear off by tomorrow I’ll have the usual body aches and nausea. I did find the SE became more difficult as the weeks went by. My blood counts also took a major hit with this phase. I was held back week 3 due to low platelets. I was held again week 10 due to low RBC and low WBC. I did have a blood transfusion that week which helped a lot. However, I did not get the final dose of carboplatin. My MO has assured me that missing one should not have a negative effect on my progress. In fact, when I saw him last week he could not find the tumor any longer, yay!
I am now on a two week break before I start 4 doses of AC over 8 weeks. My MO has told me that I will be having the Neulasta each week of treatment. I know some of you have already completed this phase of the treatment. Any information or wisdom you could share would be greatly appreciated. It seems like the AC is more intense, I’m anxious to get the first one over so I know what to expect. I’m praying that my blood counts don’t take the hit they did with the taxol/Carboplatin/Tecentriq.
I’m hoping and praying you all finish the remaining weeks with minimal side effects, and that everyone is able to get outside and enjoy themselves. Lastly, thanks to you all, you have been an inspiration 😊.
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lpreston, I had the aching muscles too after I finished. I was not any weaker than before but just very achy/sore muscles/legs. MO said it "might" be from the chemo, but didn't seem inclined to do further checking. It resolved gradually and now I feel pretty much back to normal. I am almost 9 weeks out. I did not have the swelling but I am inclined to think it is likely related and therefore temporary, so don't panic. I know it is frustrating to finally be done yet have new/ongoing issues! Hang in there. I started going hat/scarf-less last week. My hair is nearly completely gray/white and still very short but I was so tired of covering my head that I decided to go for it and have gotten compliments and some people don't even know that I had chemo. Eyelashes and eyebrows are coming along slowly but surely.
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Lpreston and tbush- Sounds like you are having more severe SE's. Hope that they subside quickly.
HappyAnyway- Great to hear from you! How are you doing so far? 3 weeks will be over before you know it! My kids started school on the 15th, and I was crazy enough to sign them up for soccer. I am grateful for the ability to start driving them to practice today. When do your kiddos start?
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Tomorrow is 8/12 Taxol. I had a pretty good week with minimal side effects. Not looking forward to the next 4 chemos but I am looking forward to being done. The fatigue is building each week but the mouth sores have resolved for now. Katiekins.. Glad to hear you are done with taxol. AC is a bird of a different color. I never had a lot of nausea with it. You do feel heavy chemo brain and exhaustion. I had my infusions on Thursday and by Monday I was pretty much back to normal.. The first two are a little easier than the last 2. Just set aside lots of time for rest. Tbush.. did you ice for the fingernails and neuropathy. I have heard it helps. I did not because I was cold capping and that was about all the ice I could take. My oc has me on B1 and Folic acid to prevent the neuropathy. So far I have been okay.. Sending good wishes and prayers for everyone this week.
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Happy- Thanks for asking and about the hair. Im doing good slowly getting back to pre chemo exercise level but courtesy of the Tamoxifen my areas of arthritis seem more pronounced. I think I'm on the 1st lash falling out time as I've noticed more lashes on my mascara wand... shoot!! Tomorrow is 1 year to the that I found my lump and surprisingly I'm thinking about that alot and it's kinda getting me worked up. So much change in the last 12 months.
Katiekins- Yay Taxol is over!! Yes AC is harder than Taxol but given you did Taxol first I'm not sure how your side effects will be. My biggest issues were change in taste buds and fatigue. My chemo day was Thursday and late Saturday through Monday were my worst days. Best of luck to you with your next stage of chemo!!!
I hope everyone else is doing good and keep up the battle to kick cancer's ass!!🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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Katiekins: Congrats on finishing Taxol.
I did AC before Taxol. I was told that Taxol would be easier but no such luck. AC was not great but if I had to chose between the two, AC wins. My major SEs cumulative anemia (fatigue) and mouth sores on infusions 2-4. (Gargling several times a day with salt and baking soda along with Magic Mouthwash helped). The first infusion was no problem but 2-4 got worst. I was supposed to have a blood transfusion (HGB from 13.8 down to 7.8) but ended up with pneumonia/fluid in the lungs/blood clot, so they couldn't transfuse. Funny thing is that I went to work every day during AC except for chemo days. By the last days, I had to Uber instead of walk. I have chemo days on Wednesdays. I'm fine on Thursday and the SEs start on Friday afternoon. That gives me the weekend to recover. I'm able to go to work on Monday.
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Katiekins,
Congrats on finishing up Taxol. Nasty drug. Sounds like we are being treated the same. I'm on week 5, after 12 weeks will do AC. We'll get there. I'm hopeful, just want to feel normal again.
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Hi everyone!
I'm now two weeks out from Taxol. I'm finding that my stomach issues, nausea and any diarrhea seem to be going away. The chemo taste in my mouth is also going away and food is tasting a bit better. I do have an aversion to some of the food I ate while I was getting chemo. There was a cashew ice cream (vegan) that I loved but now just turns my stomach. Which is sad because I loved that ice cream. ☹️ I will be doing my mapping session on Monday and start radiation probably the next week.
Lpreston- I had some swelling in my ankles last night. Never had that before. They are back to nor,al this morning so it may have been the heat/humidity or I didn't drink enough water. I am going to let my NP know just in case. My muscles are also sore like I haven't used them in months.
Congrats notdefined on the progress!
Hi martaj- I'm sorry that it's been a bit crappy over the last week but good to hear that you're on an upswing. I have watched Unbroken but not Greenbook. I'll have to put that on my list.
Hi HappyAnyway! I'm glad you have a week off. Sometimes that really helps.
Hi tbush - I'm sorry about your nails. Mine are sore but nothing really else. I hope that resolves soon.
Hi Katiekins - congrats with being done with the Taxol. That's great that the tumor is disappearing. All of you in harsher chemo regimens have my respect. Good luck with the AC!
Yay mpv on number 8. You are almost there. I hope the next four go quickly with minimal SE.
Wow Kamboka. I'm sorry that Taxol hit you so hard. Especially working a job. I was fatgued on Taxol but still worked and sometimes when Monday rolled around I just wanted to stay home. I hope it gets better for you.
I hope I didn't leave anyone out.As always good to see the ladies who are long time post chemo - ipenelope and loiswb who provided a lot of encouragement and guidance
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Katikins: I took Clartin (well generic ) on Sunday thru Sat the week of the shot . My A/C was on Wed and the shot was on Thursday. This was to off set bone pain. I think it worked. For me A/C worked like this day of chemo felt weird until evening then taking Zofran like clockwork to stop any break thru naseau from evening of treatment day for 72 hours. Day 2 Shot day- usually feel pretty good but stomach on edge and I have to keep activities to a minimum- but I do hit my 10K steps. Day 3 it's the like flu w/o a fever - I feel like crap and all my lymph nodes are swollen for right about 24 hours. Day 4 tired and depressed. Day 5 less tired, less depressed, and upward from there. When I would go for next A/C treatment they would say: How are you feeling? I would reply I feel great right now, fantastic-because I did and then the A/C would knock me back down.
For comparison, if you have ever happened to find yourself with morning sickness or a hangover the first few days after A/C that is how I felt.
HTH!
I start Taxol 9/19 looking forward to when it's over. LOL
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Hi All, Thanks for the feedback. I hope my fingertip issues resolve soon. I'm soaking the nail 3 times a day and I'm on the 3rd day of antibiotics. The fingernail is still tender and swollen around the cuticle. The pain has subsided. My doctor will give it another day before I see a dermatologist who will most likely remove the nail. I hope it resolves itself before it comes to removal. My doctor wants me to keep my hands warm to keep them circulating. Also,as per my doctor, I'm done with taxol even though I had 1 more session left to complete the 12 weeks of taxol. I'm not excited because this nail infection has taken that joy away. The next steps for me is radiation. My energy level is pretty good. I have a few sluggish days and then I'm okay. My biggest issue with taxol aside from my fingertips and tingly toes are my taste buds. I'm not sure when my taste bud will resume to normalcy but I look forward to that day soon. I understand that it will take awhile. I was shocked the other day to see hair on my head and my lashes on my left eye only are beginning to grow in. Nothing happening with the right lashes or brows at this time. I was not expecting hair growth at this time while still on taxol. It's been one week without taxol and hair growth was not expected.
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Katiekins - AC was worse for me than T. Take the nausea meds - don't wait. Again, hydrate and protein. This was hard for me due to severe nausea. Nothing worked. I finally was given Adivan - which not only works on anxiety, but nausea and muscle cramps. Thank the Lord it worked.
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Today was day 1/12 Taxol. Someone here used a visual of PAC Man so that is how I think of it. Arrived at 9:45. Left at 2:30. They said it will be shorter time by #3 visit.
Worse part of day was icing my hands and feet. Wow! 1.5 hours. 15 minutes before and after and the hour for PAC Man IV. My husband had to massage my feet and hands for blood flow and then I was fine. Walked 5000 steps when I got home
Hoping the icing keeps me from neuropathy. I want to play Pickleball in Florida January 1, 2020.
Thank you all for sharing. Your posts are so encouraging
Ginny
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I had my 5/12 taxol today. No cysplatin or trial drug/placabo. Infusion went well, blood counts good, and the rash is starting to fade which is a great thing. Head still has sores but are subsiding. The cream that derm gave me is helping. I didn't have to have taxol dose lowered. I looked at NIH site for skin reactions to Taxol and they showed a picture of what my rash looked like and an algorithm to follow. Working, just hopes it keeps working. Most likely will be up at 3am, usually am after infusion, but will rest and not be like the wild woman I usually am. cleaning house top to bottom and such. Was given xanax will take.!!!! Hope you all have a great weekend. Marta
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Hi All.. Taxol number 9 is done and feeling pretty good today..(steroids). Strangest thing with taxol is I go out almost as soon as premeds start and sleep till cold cap comes off. then I come home and crash for the rest of the day.. Just odd. My hair is actually coming in pretty well and I figure by the time taxol is over I may be able to get it cut into a short pixie.. All gray though. I colored for many years so I had no idea how gray I really was. Love Florida They should be able to get your time down I about 3 hours.. Dog Mom..Thanks for the encouragement.. It is pretty amazing how fast taxol seems to go compared to the AC.. Hoping like you I will be able to finish radiation up by the holidays. So nice to start the new year with this bout of cancer behind me. Sending everyone prayers and hugs for a good weekend. Thank you for your posts and the support they give me.
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I am doing AC-T starting 9/10 and my MO said we could DD the taxol too. So rather than weekly it would be DD biweekly I think. If I do it that way I will be done before the holidays and end of the year if everything goes well which really appeals to me. Anyone done this? Side effects?
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Eveldon— that is how I did it. My only issue was with the steroids... I ended up having to take metformin for high blood sugar levels. Hope it goes well for you.....
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Eveldon: I am doing DD Taxol. I tried Taxotere but had a bad reaction so we switched to Taxol. I'm on number two dose. The first time I had excruciating bone and muscle pain for three days. This second dose, the doctor reduced by 20%. I just had it on Wednesday and tonight I'm starting to feel the pain (also had to take Neulasta this time as well--so double pain.) I started the Claritin and Aleve two days ago trying to front load to help ward away the pain. At least my discomfort started a few hours later than last time and is not as bad so far.
Some people have few side effects. I hope you are in that group. Good luck.
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Hi
I just had my first of 12 weekly doses of taxol and herceptin. I have been reading a lot of posts but am trying to determine if I am going to lose my hair and if I should get a wig.It seems that ones who have mentioned hair loss already had other types of chemo before going on to weekly taxol.
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Welcome, Jmac67! We're glad you've joined our community, but we're so sorry for what brings you here. This is a very welcoming and knowledgeable community, and the members here can offer their insight and experience regarding Taxol and hair loss! We know trying to prepare for what's coming can be so helpful.
The Mods
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loveflorida,
When I receive my chemo I like to visualize the "pac man" going along and eating or gobbling up the cancer!!! Can you tell what generation I'm from? That is the only video game I know how to play. My grandchildren and sons laugh at me for that. Oh well.
Yesterday infusion #5/12 of taxol. Up at 4:30am this morning not 2-3am like usual. That is a plus, slept well too for a change. Rash is fading, sores on head clearing up. Whew. Hope you all have a great weekend. Going to be a bit soggy here in RI being that we live on coast line and winds are really gusting at present. Reminants of hurricane Dorian.
Last night got a scare, my golden retriever ate a "pot brownie", of course goggled side effects and such. He is fine. Being that dogs shouldn't have chocolate to add weed onto it made me a bit nervous. He was very quiet and when I went to check on him, had gotten on shelf and ate one. "shit head!!!!" He is by my side this am acting his normal begging self. I'll have to be more careful when I put them on shelf to cool. We call him the "beast" even though his name is Grady, and he'll be 9 next week, still acts like a puppy. Quite the instigator. Well all, have a great weekend.
Marta
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Jmac—while Taxol is one of the gentler chemo drugs, you will lose your hair. I wasn’t a wig gal—I wore baseball caps when I was out and about; bandannas when I went to the gym.
Martaj—my body seemed to adjust to the steroid part-way through treatment. I also would take a Zofran because drowsiness is a SE. I never did have sleep issues, and after a few treatments I didn’t even get super hungry after tx
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Ingerp - thanks for the info. This is all still so new to me.
I had my first treatment Thursday and still no SE with the exception of not being able to sleep the first night. Should I still expect to feel bad at some point today (day3) or tomorrow? Or will there be a gradual effect as I continue my weekly treatments
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Jmac—SEs tend to get worse through treatment, but honestly for many of us on Taxol only they just never were that bad. I had infusions on Fridays, felt good (on those steroids!) Friday/Saturday/a lot of Sunday, would be a little draggy late Sunday/Monday, and started to come out of it Tuesday. Other than being a little more tired than usual, you likely won’t notice much the first few weeks. I always took the anti-nausea meds the first few days just cause why not? And EAT YOUR PROTEIN. I cannot stress that enough. For me anyway, even by #12, the worst was just kind of feeling like my body was extra heavy—like it took a *lot* of energy to get up out of a chair. I never felt nauseous, never felt sick—just a little drained. My husband helped by cooking dinner most nights, but other than going to bed a little earlier, it didn’t impact my life too much. I worked throughout. I also kept up with the gym somewhat, although be gentle with yourself. I was okay Sat/Sun, took Mon/Tue off, was back at it Wed/Thu, although was mostly just doing a little walking on the treadmill.
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Good Morning!
8 weeks post Taxol and honestly feeling more like myself than I have since pre chemo. My lashes and brows are coming in. I was able to use mascara this week😁
My fatigue has subsided and my taste along with appetite are back. I still have some numbness in my toes but mainly when I'm laying down. My hair is filling in on top and really coming in thick.
I start Kadcyla Friday so I won't be posting updates on this thread any longer. Not sure what SE to expect on Kadcyla but hopefully it won't be too bad.
To all that are done with Taxol, congratulations!!! To those still going through it, I hope you have minimal to no side effects and remember, you will get through this. Life will get back to normal.
🤗🤗
Dawn
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Katikins, I had AC first, then Taxol. AC was four doses, every other week. I needed the Neupogen/Neulasta shots with AC. My blood counts tanked with every treatment.
So I would have treatment on Thursday afternoons. By dinnertime, I felt like I had a bad case of flu--body aches--that lasted for several hours, but I slept well that night. I needed my compazine and zofran. Don't skip a dose or take it late! Take it preventatively, or it can become really hard to get back under control. I never vomitted, but it was close a few times; mostly when I hadn't taken the anti-nausea meds on time. You might need to take a stool softener like Colace and/or Miralax to help combat the constipation from anti-nausea meds.
The next day I had the shot. I was worn out from the night before, but was okay to go to the Dr's office for the shot. I think the shot effects were worse than the AC. Again I felt okay for a few hours, and then back down with body aches and nausea. This was my pattern for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. By Sunday I was able to eat a little, and then Monday was a recovery day.
I was getting dehydrated in spite of trying to drink; my sister, who had cancer previously, suggested that I ask the Dr if I could have IV fluids when I went in for the shot to help with that. My doctor agreed, and that made a huge difference in my hydration, ability to eat and drink, and general well-being. So if you find that you have a hard time eating or drinking, ask your doctor to order fluids. It was so very helpful.
I was already on Flonase and Allegra for my allergies, so my chemo nurse said to just continue with those instead of switching to Claritin. She said it was the antihistamine in them that helped with the bone pain. I did have some bone pain anyway, but it was manageable with Advil.
I repeatedly would get yeast infections in my mouth, requiring oral medication and magic mouthwash. It was uncomfortable, but I didn't get horrible mouth sores like some do. My ability to taste went away--I couldn't taste much of anything.
The side effects for AC are cumulative. For me, the tiredness got to be enormous. I walked like a 90 year old lady, and my muscles were weak. After the third treatment, I had fewer "good" days than I had been having. I was relieved when I was done with that phase of my treatment, but it did help my tumors shrink considerably so it was well worth it!
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