Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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Emily: that is when my hair started falling out. I had it shaved. Now I just have some peach fuzz. I look like a rabid fox! I didn't shave it totally off. Just left what little is still there.
Paula: I continue to hope and pray I have the same easier time you are having on Taxol. I am do happy for you that you feel better!0 -
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the great insight and information!
Well, Taxol 1/8 is done as of today. I'm on the weekly regimine that should supposedly be easier. It's wierd that I'm awake waiting for the AC SEs. Lol My sister went through this 6 years ago and keeps reassuring me this round is better. Yet, somehow the Red Devil still haunts me...
As a reward after AC we took the kids out skiing this past week and I felt like a normal person for the first time in months. I was afraid of the low blood count and altitude but it was not a problem. Thank goodness!
Anyways, here is to few SEs and kick in' cancers ass!0 -
BCfree 2013, you must be doing neoadjuvant chemo too? You are finished with your AC, what was it like? I'm pretty scared of it! I had to take the decadron like you before taxol the first 3 times but for my 4th trmt on Wednesday I don't have to. It made me restless & sleep was hard to find but I'd lay in the hotel bed with my iPad so I wouldn't bother whomever drove me that week. Hope it goes smoothly for you
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Washingtonwoman, yes, I am doing neoadjvent chemo and I am done with my 4 dense dose AC. (Yah!) The tumor is definitely shrinking, though I don't know how much.
I tolerated AC well. Nausea, constipation, and fatigue were my biggest problems. I took stool softener when needed to help with constipation. I took zofran once on the day of treatment and twice daily for three days after each treatment. I felt extremely tired the first three days after each treatment. I work from home, so I can rest whenever I need. Hope you have minimal SE with AC!0 -
I took three popcicles or chipped ice to all chemo treatments and kept it in my mouth during red devil or Taxol treatments. I also wore gloves with the finger tips cut out and kept sandwich bags of ice on my finger tips during much of the same chemo, Never any mouth sores, Gray under one thumb nail, but I dont think it will come off. Did nothing for toe nails. Now I think the nail will come off two middle toes on both sides. black and raised.
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Taxol #1 of 12 done! No issues, no reactions, loopy on benadryl for the rest of the day. I feel ok today, just a bit tired from the broken sleep. Hot flashes and steroids... fun.
My count was a bit low but just high enough for tx. I hope it starts to come up on weekly taxol. Makes me nervous that its so low all the time.
Have a wonderful day ladies!
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Skigirl72 - I'm glad you got the first one over with, with minimal side effects. Which counts are low? My white blood cells stayed normal throughout my 12 weekly taxols, but my red blood cells/hemoglobin went down below normal after the first treatment and stayed down throughout. Luckily I never got down to the level where I would have needed a transfusion (my MO said hemoglobin of 8 or below). I usually hovered around 9.9 - 10.3, low enough to cause me to be out of breath when going up stairs, but nothing dramatic.
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Patin, I had that samequestionaout RBCs during taxol... Had to get transfusion onAC number 3, and reacted poorly to it,but I react to anything and everything. I am starting to research foods with high iron content that have less tendency to constipate, as iron does. Beets are a good one,and fortunately for me, I like them... They might not taste like beets when I eat them, but we shall see. If I find other ideas or anyone else has ideas for high iron foods, let us know here. A much better idea than a transfusion if one can help it.
WashingtonWoman... Wow. Taxol before the AC. Don't want to get your loos pressure up, but don't let it scare ou too much. The good news is that you can only do it once in your lifetime, so when u r done, you will never do its again. Another good news... You will have whipped the worst part of the bad cancer cells when you are done with AC.
The list is pretty much what ski girl said... Tired as heck... Be prepared to spend a lot of time resting and sleeping, don't wear ourself out. I would personally recommend speaking with your MO aout a nausea patch such as SANCUSO. I did not have it for tx one or two, but it's made things so much better for Rx 3 and 4. The nausea gets worse as u go, for most people. Not for everyone. No nail issues for me, it's usually just a taxol issue. I had pre-meds of emendation and decadron plus the patch. Dry ryes out of focus for reading, especially by number four. I did mine every two weeks. Gives theWBC time to come up either with Neulasta or with neupagen,which I had to change to for other reasons. RBC comes up by following monday for most, as well.
(See above note about diet for RBC).
As txs go on, increased metal taste in mouth... You might consider keeping something like ENSURE around. It is also high in fiber and helps with constipation.
Good luck to you with it...and inmind that it is ONLY the number ofttimes you do it,and you will be DONE with that part. As any ofus who have gonethrough it... We all came out onthe other side. Keep your chin up, kiddo.
Not everyone responds thesame! That's agood thing to remember when u start.
Peace,
C. , mom to Emily, who hadto move to her other parents hOuse during this mess....
But she will comeback intwo months!
Have a great day everyone!0 -
Excuse my crummy typing. The iPAD changes everything I try tosay. Meant blood pressure,not loos pressure!
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EmilysMom - LOL on the ipad - I have the same problem. It tries to "fix" words in very funny ways, and it's so easy to hit the wrong key.
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I've also been struggling with low RBC. I am eating more whole beans, nuts, and nori (edible seaweed used as sushi wrap), all of which are high in iron. I like to put nori in egg drop soup, which is tasty and nutritious.
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My problem since starting weekly Taxol is maintaining WBC. They seem to get lower every week, but so far, I'm getting my treatments.
Paula0 -
Taxol 12/12 of just two days.
To all of the newbies here, I promise you can do this. I am tired, but it is a different tired than AC.
I started growing hair about four weeks ago, I look like a hedgehog with rabies.
My eyebrows fell out, but I now have a five o clock eyebrow shadow. No nausea ever, some bone and joint pain now and then, but it has been managable with tramadol. I have one loose toenail, and just this week I have had some nueropathy in my left thumb. My kids have had some virus the past two weeks, but God willing I have managed to not get it.
For those of you looking at diet changes I highly recommend meeting with a oncology based nutritionist if where you are being treated has one. It was nice to get different ideas from someone who specializes in that.
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I tried to take a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses every day to keep my hemoglobin from dropping too much - it seemed to help. The lowest my hemoglobin got was 10.4. Wheatgrass juice raises the white cell count - you can get it at booster juice - 1 ounce daily is all that is needed, but it is expensive and is hard to take.
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Great idea,adagio...betyoucanhidethewheatgrass juice inwithagood smoothieorshake.
Sorry, not retyping. Bummer. Never heard about molasses... Will try if needed.
Great ideas.... Thanks!0 -
They told me the WBC is produced in the bone marrow, and there's nothing I can do to elevate it. Is that not true? I'm going to do some research.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Soteria- My wbc is 2.4. The Neut # is 1.1. That's the one she looks at to decide if I can have tx. My platelets are ok at 282 and my RBC was 3.6 (a little low). So far she isn't concerned. We just keep being careful and hope they are high enough for tx. I'd assume at some point we would just postpone a week to get them back up. I don't want to do that but I will if I have to. I was also told there is nothing we can do naturally to help boost the wbc. It just has to come up on its own. So, I eat well, drink fluids, lots of green veggies and my vitamins.
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Skigirl - My WBC has stabilized on Taxol. I still get some strong swings because I get Neulasta for dose-dense Taxol, but the low points are still very close to the normal range. It's my RBC that has been dropping since going on Taxol. It's still above 8, but I do worry about it dropping more. MO says there is nothing I can do about it, but I have been trying really hard to eat more foods with iron, and I think it is helping. Don't rule out cereals to help with RBC. Two packages of instant oatmeal: 40% RDA for iron.
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I love oatmeal and cream of wheat. LOL I have been eating better since all this started. Now I am focusing on the foods that will help raise the reds and whites...
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My MO also told me that there is nothing I can do to help raise my WBC and RBC. But I am still trying to eat more foods high in iron and protein (eg: whole grains, veggies, organic meat, and fruits) to hopefully help my good cells repair themselves faster.
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Skigirl~~I'm eating breakfast daily for the first time since elementary school.
Two weeks ago my neutrophils were 1.1. The next week they were 1.7, but last week they were below 1. I've been having my prayer warriors pray. I know God can boost them when I can't.
My onc did tell me that RBC can be boosted by eating iron rich foods. Not so for the WBC.
Blessings
Paula0 -
I am finding that eating more meat, spinach and iron-fortified cereals is reducing my fatigue, so I am inclined to agree with Paula's MO rather than mine. My MO says my body is not producing RBC because the chemo rather than low iron.
On a positive note my MO said she was not going to worry about my RBC sitting in 8 range because in two weeks I'll have my last treatment, and my RBC will get better on its own.
When she said that, I nearly cried.
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Zorina: let me know what brands of cereal you get. Two weeks and you are done! Great news!
I had my first of 4 Taxol today. It took 6 hours. The next three will take less time. So far I am just tired. I do not need the Neulasta shot as of now. My blood work today was WBC:17.9, HGB:12.8 and HCT: 37.5. I have maintained those numbers, give or take depending on the time between the shot, throughout the 4 AC txs.
Whatever SEs I get will probably hit Fri. My nurse assured me it will be easier and I should not need to take any pain killers.
Believe it or not I still have some congestion and cough, day 12 of this shit cold thing! Hoping it is going to be totally gone soon.
5 down, 3 to go.0 -
Ywheels - Gosh, I wish I had your blood counts!
Two packages of Quaker Instant Oatmeal contain 40% RDA for iron. I like the low sugar apple cinnamon.
Sorry your cold is still lingering, but at least it isn't delaying treatment.
Three more times at the chemo lounge and you will be done!
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Zorina: my MO, NP, and nurse have been very impressed with my counts. They said I am a rarity, that usually many patients show signs of anemia by tx3 of AC. I guess I am blessed in that regard. On my HCT I went below normal 2x (34.3 & 36.4), which they were not worried about. I am keeping my fingers crossed my counts stay good through the 4 Taxols so I don't need that dreaded shot.
I will look for iron enriched cereals.
You are so close! I can't wait to feel the way you do right now. Enjoy and stay strong!0 -
Hi everyone,
I hope all is okay. My favorite food on taxol was Cinnabon cream of wheat. No other food tasted good to me.
Surgery went well yesterday. I was home by noon.only one incision is hurting me. The right one which is the larger one. He said things looked okay. I will get results on Monday. I did not want to go on Friday. It is supposed to rain.0 -
Mareluna, so glad your surgery went well! Rest up now and heal! Hang in there.
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Just met with my MO and we decided on 100% strength for the final taxol dose. We talked about lowering it to 80% given that I have some neuropathy in my thumbs (mostly) and fingers. The protocol she follows recommends decreasing Taxol down to 80% of the full dose if patients are experiencing severe neuropathy, but I'm happy to say that I don't think what I'm experiencing qualifies as "severe". I chose the full dose because 1. I want to feel like I did everything possible to prevent recurrence, and 2. my neuropathy symptoms have eased since their peak last week, even though I had to stop taking the glutamine. Speaking of which ....my liver enzymes were back in the normal range today. Seems like it was the glutamine causing the sharp increase.
So, tomorrow will be my last trip to the bar (I'm bringing flowers for my nurses) and 3 days afterwards I will resume both the alpha lipoic acid AND the glutamine for the next 4 weeks. I'm not going to have any more neupogen shots so I will have to be more careful than I have been about germs. Best part is that three weeks after my final taxol, I should be good to go for alcohol consumption and I am already fantasizing about a fantastic Oregon pinot noir with which to celebrate!
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Nicole, how many weeks of taxol are you doing? Doing it weekly? So glad for you to be on your last one! Way to go toward that Pinot noir... You have earned it!
Did you take the glut amine on rec of your MO or did you choose it yourself?
I am just starting taxol this week and trying to decide to
Take it or not. Already doing b6 and b12.
Will probably ask my MO next week about it.
When did your neuropathy peak for you?
I didn't know until meeting about taxol this week, that it could become permanent.
Sure hope not,for everyone on here.
Hang in there Nicole and keep up the journey... Almost there!
Peace,
C0 -
EmilysMom ~ I did 4 doses of Taxol, following the same dose dense protocol I had with AC.
My naturopath recommended the glutamine (in addition to the B6& B12) and my MO was okay with it initially. My liver didn't tolerate the glutamine & Taxol combo. My naturopath said it was rare--most of the women she works with tolerate it fine. I discontinued glutamine a few days into my third Taxol cycle and replaced it with alpha lipoic acid.
I did not have lasting neruopathy symptoms with Taxol 1 & 2. It was intermittent and pretty mild. With dose #3 I had more neuropathy symptoms and they lasted longer. I was not using glutamine. I don't know if it is the cumulative effect of the Taxol or the removal of the protective effect of glutamine that made the difference. At any rate, the neuropathy resolved enough that I'm feeling okay about proceeding AND I am adding the glutamine back in after this dose since my liver doesn't have to have any more Taxol after tomorrow's dose.
I think your plan to work with your MO on the glutamine question is a good one. I'm really not sure whether it has been helpful for me but it seems like maybe yes.
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