Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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Swimgal, so glad you found our hints helpful and good luck with the port installation and infusions. You are so well prepared! Please keep us posted as to how you are doing.
Amary, thank you for the nail tip. I was wondering what OPI nail polish was doing on someone's Taxol tips list! Showed my slightly browning nails to MO and she said to rub cream or vaseline on my browning nails and also cuticles to keep them soft. That idea conflicts with making the nails hard, but I'll try her advice first and see what happens.
Aram, seems you and I have equalized in infusion number, I had my 7th today too. I am also noticing some eye symptoms that are scaring me such as flashing lights in the dark and foamy vision peripherally. I am not on any adjunct meds that would affect the eye and thankfully my blood sugar went back down so it must be the Taxol.
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Hopeheal and anyone else interested. I read ona another thread some where that soaking nails in epsom salt a couple of times a day and pressing on them will keep them from lifting and get the junk from underneath out. And allow you to keep your nails.
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Thanks for the tip, LoverofJesus.
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Hey everyone! I have a question.
Has anyone cut their Taxol short??? Would it matter?
I thought about asking about cutting it to 8 instead of 12. I just wondered if it would make a difference or not. Has anyone else and did it change anything? And what did the MO say about it?
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Hello all,
LoverofJesus, if you have finished 8 taxol, you are almost there!! Based on consulting with a number of oncologists, I was told taxol is really effective in decreasing recurrence rate. Are you experiencing very bad side effects?
Take care, everyone.
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Hi again all,
HopeHeal, Ah good luck with the nail moisturising and let us know how you go!
Everyone, I have taken a week break after 3 taxol and managed to take a plane to France to see my family! From where I live, it is a 7-hour flight. Doc told me I was fine to fly. I was a bit achy on the flight due to my Neupogen injection, but otherwise ok. I am already covid-19 vaccinated before I got diagnosed with breast cancer so I'm hoping I remain protected! It is so nice to get away even for a week. Will head back and continue my 4th taxol next week.
Just wanted to share that it's so nice to feel semi-normal even for a week.
Thinking of you all.
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Amary-it is such a recharge to get to see family. That is great. I do not live near any family either except my husband and kids. My treatment was January-March and surgery was April. I saw my mom for the first time in 18 months in May. I saw in-laws in July. Then I saw my brother and nephew for the first time in 3 years. This was an extra long hug. Doing anything that feels "normal" is such a recharge.
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Hey Love if Jesus. I just finished my 9th taxol. I know how you feel. I am going to try to finish all of them, but feel like quitting too. For me, it is mostly my energy level. I missed one in the middle due to low white blood cells. I do grastophil shots now. If I don’t make up the one I missed, I have two left. If I thought about making one up at the beginning of the treatment, I would have said definitely not. Now, I think I will. Try and hang in there if you can. You have already come so far. I think completing these regiments is a real accomplishment. Best of luck
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Hi everyone, Nicole has developed Hand and Foot syndrome between AC and Taxol chemo. Has anyone else experienced this side effect? If so does it go away completely once treatment is done? Nicole is on dose dense AC+T. She got her 3rd Taxol yesterday and last one will be in 2 weeks.
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I'm so sorry to hear this Peter. I cannot be of any help except to say--really lean on the doctors to make sure they are helping her feel as good as possible....
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Amary it's been so long since I have done anything normal like that. Glad your doc gave you the o.k. to travel and that it felt healing for you. Looking forward to traveling again myself instead of being cooped up.
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Hi everyone,
Yes, indeed I feel recharged to see my family. My doc gave me the ok as my blood count, though low, were not affecting me too much to the point that I couldn't do regular activities. Also, I took 1 week off taxol and he was fine with that as I had finished 3 of 12. Since I flew 3 days after my 3rd taxol, I was feeling pretty achy, but managed the flight and then pretty much slept a lot for the next 2 days.
I'm back from my trip now and ready to start 4th weekly taxol tomorrow.
Hi Peter, I have not experienced with the hand and foot syndrome as a side effect, but I hope it can be managed too.
Take care, everyone.
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Amary, it is good to hear you were able to get a break.
Peter, I hope Nicole is doing better.
I had my 8th infusion last week, 4 to go. Other than fatigue I am mostly doing ok.
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A question for those going through or having been through the weekly taxol: I haven't started it yet, as surgery is coming up this week, but the taxol side effects are scaring me, mostly because I keep finding more (also they're just scary). So the list I've come up with is: runny eyes, mouth sores, total body hair loss, finger and toenail destruction, gut issues, low blood cell counts, and sometimes permanent neuropathy. My question: what am I missing? Are there more? Somehow it's easier if I know what to expect. I know the taxol manufacturers list possible side effects, but for example, saying "nail changes" somehow doesn't really give an accurate picture, when the reality is that my nails may (or may not) turn black and lift off.
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AMG2--you might also notice a rapid heartbeat, fatigue, runny nose, and/or shortness of breath. Many of us used icing methods for our hands and feet to help prevent neuropathy and nail damage, so consider doing that. I sailed through Taxol with "easy" SEs, thank goodness. I iced my hands and feet and sucked on ice chips during infusions to try to prevent mouth sores. I did not have any neuropathy, no nail changes, and only one small mouth ulcer that resolved in a day. I can't swear that the icing helped, but I'm glad I did it.
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AMG2, I have completed 9 weekly Taxol so far. My main side effects on Taxol have been low white blood counts and fatigue. Once in a while I get blurry vision but nothing serious. I also ice my hands and feet and so far no neuropathy or nail changes. My MO mentioned the chances are higher during last weeks so we shall see.
I should mention the effects are accumulative. I am much more tired now than I was in the first weeks and again my MO mentioned it usually gets worse with last 4 treatments.
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I got bad blisters on the soles of my feet and on my hands 1 day after starting Taxol. I had also just finished 4 rounds of AC. The blisters went away after a couple of days. Now I only wear shoes with socks to prevent more blisters. I haven't had my 2nd Taxol treatment yet, so not sure if this will happen to me every week or not.
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Weliwonder-- I haven't heard of blisters on the feet but that sounds really uncomfortable. Hope your next treatment is easier for you.
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I have only had two infusions and other than being a little tired the day of and a runny nose sometimes, I have had no side effects. I am wearing cold gloves and socks during infusions. I am doing the cool capping with Dignicap, so I leave the gloves and socks on for a little while after Taxol ends since I have to keep the cap on for 90 minutes after. I know I'm in the early stages of infusions, but no neuropathy so far. I am rinsing with Biotene at least twice a day and so far no mouth issues. I am also using the pink booster bundle from chemo hair and skin, which includes not only products for use with my cool capping, but also hair growth spray and eyebrow and eyelash serum.
Try not to worry about every possible side effect. Do what you can to avoid them developing and take one treatment at a time.
Blessings!
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Hi,
I finished late March. The most memorable side effects for me were that my nose was raw (occasional bloody noses--not gushers but raw) and my mouth was sensitive and tip of tongue was numb (but I didn't get sores). It was sensitive to temperatures and spices. I also used Biotene mouth spray, and I used a q-tip to put vaseline in my nose before bed. All of my parts with fast reproducing cells were affected/raw...which is the purpose of Taxol, I guess....nose, mouth, vagina, nails (towards the end) ....
With the accumulation, the fatigue became more noticeable for me after about 6 or 7 weeks.
Drinking lots of water will help. You will do great and you will get through it!
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AMG2, the most prominent SE for me is myalgia which for me was back achy-ness, sometimes severe or not, sometimes for days or much less. Also, pronounced shortness of breath upon exertion such as climbing stairs or just walking, due to the low RBC and resulting anemia Taxol caused, requiring 2 blood transfusions so far. I lost the my eyelashes and brows which did not happen with my other chemo. Toward the middle of my treatment my nails became a brownish color toward the center and one nail really looks more discolored now and was hurting for a while. I also noticed that out of the blue I can't move one of my big toes the way I used to. I heard motor nerve damage can regenerate so hoping for that. Good luck with your treatment and I hope it goes very smoothly for you.
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Hi everyone! I've been a lurker and will be starting 12 weekly Taxol infusions on August 31st. My hair is already gone with AC, but so far I've managed to hang onto my eyelashes and eyebrows. It sounds like they will be leaving soon.
It sounds like icing is good for the hands and feet. No one has mentioned that to me at my center yet, so I will bring it up at my last AC infusion on the 17th. Is anyone massing their feet and hands? My wonderful hubby has been giving me nightly foot massages and I've been massaging my hands to help with neuropathy. However, it sounds like icing needs to occur for Taxol as well.
I'm hopeful that the side effects are less than on AC because the exhaustion is....exhausting on AC. I get my infusions on Tuesday and am taking Thursday off of work to spend it on the sofa at home. Is the exhaustion comparable or worse on Taxol? Trying to get an idea of what to wrap my head around and what to talk to my work about my performance and days off.
Thanks everyone.
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KotchAJ--welcome, and sorry you have to be here. I had a very easy time with Taxol; no significant SEs beyond losing all body hair, loss of taste, and an accelerated heart rate. Taxol was MUCH easier than AC for me, but everyone is different so it's hard to say how you'll tolerate it. I highly recommend icing your hands and feet; I have not had any signs of neuropathy and my nails are still healthy. Can't say for certain that the icing helped that, but it was easy to do so worth it to try. Good luck and I hope it goes well.
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KotchAJ, my hair was gone completely with AC as well but on weekly Taxol it is coming back very slowly. I lost my eyebrows and lashes during Taxol though.
As LW422 said, everyone is different but Taxol generally has been easier on me than AC. I should mention I had a terrible time on AC so it might not count that much when I use the word easier.
Good luck with your treatment.
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KotchAJ, I never had AC, but I just had my third infusion of Taxol today. So far my only SE is being tired for the rest of treatment day. I do ice my hands and feet and I wanted to share with you what I use. I have found them to be very effective. I just pack them in a small cooler and bring them with the rest of my supplies. I assemble them before I put them in my freezer at home so I don't have to struggle with inserting the frozen gel packs into the socks and gloves on day of use. I also place each one in a large baggy so they don't freeze to each other or something else. I wish you success and minimal SE on your Taxol infusions. I hope this is helpful.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082HG964H?psc=1&ref=ppx...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003L4WONS?psc=1&ref=ppx...
Blessings!
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Hi everyone,
KotchAJ, welcome! You seem to be doing well with AC, that's great! I was knocked out by AC, but finding taxol much better. I managed to take a 7-hour international flight and back again when I had a week break (with doc's approval). I have my 6th weekly taxol tomorrow, can't wait to finish. Try to get some light exercise in between like a jog/walk if you can manage it.
Swimgal, wow already finished 3rd taxol, it's going fast!
Take care, everyone.
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Thank all of you so much for sharing your experiences and counteractions with me. I feel a bit like a baby seeing how many of you have also gone through AC, too, which I don't think I have to do, and I feel lucky that taxol is not so horrible. Aram, I'm sorry about the AC being so bad, but glad the taxol is a bit easier on you.
Swimgal, I've been wondering how you've been doing, and am glad to see that you're faring pretty well! I've got my ice socks and gloves ready to go, and am going to try cold capping with penguin's system. I've also found something called polybalm that I'm going to try for nail preservation. I saw a controlled study from Cambridge University that used it, and it looked pretty promising.
Not looking forward to it, but also wanting to get on with this and get it over with. I hope everyone is doing reasonably well today.
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Hello everyone! I have posted on this group before. About Taxol.
I begin weekly Taxol next week after finishing 4 of AC. What should I expect? I am praying it’s not as hard as I don’t have two weeks to recover as with the AC.
My biggest thing with the AC was coming off the steroids. They would let me down so hard that two days after chemo I was just achy in my muscles and tired. Typical steroid side effects.
They are lowering my dose of steroids with Taxol so I’m praying this is better. But I am hoping that the Taxol will not be worse than the AC.
I know for some it was easier. A few responded to that question I had before. But now that I’m getting closer I would like details and what you all feel.
Hugs to you all and believing for complete healing for us all.
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Hi everyone,
Anybody else experienced severe diarrhea with Taxol? Last Wednesday I had THP, and I had severe diarrhea for 3 days. Imodium didn't help at all. I needed to go to ER. All tests were clear. And they said it most probably was from Perjeta. Then diarrhea stopped on Tuesday.
Today I had my Taxol only infusion and again I have severe diarrhea. So I am thinking maybe it is Taxol? I did have diarrhea in first weeks too but just taking 1 or 2 Imodium fixed it. Not anymore.
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Hi all, I know this thread is titled "weekly taxol", but is anyone else doing dose-dense biweekly taxol treatments? I couldn't find a thread for that. I imagine side effects are the same as weekly, but might be more intense since the taxol is given at a higher dose. My first taxol treatment is tomorrow.
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